THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


MEMORIALS 


OF 


WILLIAM   E.    DODGE 


COMPILED   AND    EDITED 


BY    D.    STUART    DODGE 


NEW    YORK 
ANSON   D.  F.  RANDOLPH   AND    COMPANY 

38  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET 


Copyright,  1887, 
BY  D.  STUART  DODGE. 


JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE. 


- 


WITH  THE  REGARDS  OF  MRS.  DODGE 
AND  HER  SONS 


-Hv 


To   HER 

WHO   WALKED   LOVINGLY   AT   HIS  SIDE   FIFTY-FIVE   HAPPY  YEARS, 

AND 

WHO  HAS  ALWAYS  BEEN  TO  HER  CHILDREN 
"THE  DEAR  MOTHER," 

THESE    MEMORIALS 

ARE   TENDERLY   INSCRIBED. 


1359451 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION vii 

I.    ANCESTORS  —  EARLY  LIFE  —  MARRIAGE     ....  i 

II.    MERCHANT  AND  CITIZEN 21 

III.  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  —  MERCANTILE  LIBRARY  — 

PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 45 

IV.  CONNECTION  WITH  RAILROADS 62 

V.    PUBLIC  AND  PATRIOTIC 72 

VI.  VISIT  TO  FORTRESS  MONROE  —  RIOT  OF  1863  — 
ADDRESS  AT  BALTIMORE  —  WELCOME  TO  SOUTH- 
ERN DELEGATES — GENERAL  GRANT  NOMINATED 

—  LETTER    TO    PRESIDENT-ELECT    GARFIELD  — 
SPEECH  IN  FAVOR  OF  PROTECTION 87 

VII.    CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE 104 

VIII.    CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES 117 

IX.    TRAVELS 137 

X.    EFFORTS  FOR  TEMPERANCE 149 

XI.    EFFORTS  FOR  THE  INDIANS 167 

XII.    EFFORTS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 180 

XIII.  CHURCH  RELATIONS 198 

XIV.  INTEREST  IN  REVIVALS  —  LETTERS  TO  INDIVIDUALS  208 
XV.    BIBLE  SOCIETY  —  TRACT  SOCIETY  —  CITY  MISSIONS 

—  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS 221 

XVI.    YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS  —  THE  GEN- 
ERAL ASSEMBLY  —  THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE  233 

XVII.    AIDING  STUDENTS  FOR  THE  MINISTRY 245 

XVIII.    WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE    ...  261 


VI 

CHAPTER 

XIX. 

XX. 


CONTENTS. 


XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 


PAGE 
275 


CHARACTERISTICS 

PERSONAL  HABITS  —  LETTERS  OF  ADVICE  —  BENEV- 
OLENCE —  FRIENDSHIP  —  SYMPATHY  —  HOSPITAL- 
ITY —  SOCIAL  INFLUENCE  —  His  "  MOTTO  "  — 
REGARD  FOR  THE  SABBATH  —  DEVOTIONAL  READ- 
ING —  INDIFFERENCE  TO  FAME  —  INTEREST  IN 
PRAYER-MEETINGS  —  LAST  DAYS  —  DEATH  .  .  292 

FUNERAL  SERVICES  AND  ADDRESSES 317 

TRIBUTES 328 

LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY 372 

ADDRESSES  AT  THE  UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE    .    390 
MONODY 406 


INTRODUCTION. 


A  T  the  urgent  solicitation  of  his  children,  Mr.  DODGE 
•*•*•  consented,  a  few  months  before  his  sudden  death, 
to  prepare  an  autobiography.  His  private  sitting-room 
was  furnished  with  additional  comforts,  that,  as  opportu- 
nity could  be  found,  he  might  have  seclusion  and  ease  to 
tell,  in  his  own  bright  and  vigorous  way,  the  story  of  his 
life.  A  stenographer  was  to  take  down  his  words ;  and  his 
sons  were  to  assist  in  editing  a  volume  which  would  be 
most  precious  to  them,  and  might  also  prove  attractive 
and  useful  to  others. 

Those  leisure  hours  never  came.  The  hurried  and  ex- 
hausting duties  of  each  new  day  left  no  time  to  recall  the 
past.  The  room  that  was  to  afford  a  quiet  retreat  was  in 
reality  made  ready  only  for  his  use  during  the  last  short 
week  of  his  life ;  and  the  history  he  would  have  related 
so  vividly,  had  now  to  be  imperfectly  gathered  from  let- 
ters, private  documents,  items  and  reports  in  old  news- 
papers, and  from  the  recollections  of  his  family  and 
friends. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  construct  a  continuous 
narrative.  Material  for  it  did  not  exist,  nor  was  it  neces- 
sary. The  life  to  be  portrayed  was  many-sided,  —  per- 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

haps  more  so  than  is  usual;  but  the  progress  was  along  the 
same  lines, —  diversified  in  character  and  continually  wide- 
ning in  scope,  yet  practically  identical  from  youth  to  old 
age.  The  business  interests  and  the  benevolent  or  reli- 
gious causes  which  attracted  his  energies  as  a  young  man, 
were  those  he  steadily  pursued  to  the  last  He  grew  with 
their  growth,  he  helped  towards  their  growth  ;  and  his 
life  is  remarkable  mainly  for  the  zeal,  ability,  persistency, 
and  entire  self-devotion  he  exhibited  in  such  numerous 
and  diverse  departments  of  useful  activity.  It  has  been 
said  of  him  that  he  could  not  have  failed  to  achieve  dis- 
tinction if  he  had  confined  himself  to  a  single  one  of  these 
objects ;  but  he  evinced  the  same  spirit  in  all.  A  clear 
and  comprehensive  view  of  his  career  may  perhaps  be 
best  gained  by  examining  it  from  each  of  these  stand- 
points. 

This  method  will  enable  any  who  are  interested  in  a 
special  branch  of  his  work  to  see  at  a  glance  what  he  at- 
tempted in  that  direction ;  while  all  who  follow  his  course 
throughout,  and  read  the  tributes  of  his  friends,  will,  it  is 
hoped,  find  themselves  in  possession  of  a  true  and  living 
portrait.  Whenever  they  could  be  discovered,  Mr.  DODGE'S 
own  words  have  been  used ;  and  when  these  failed,  —  as 
they  too  often  did,  —  the  testimony  of  others,  if  it  could 
be  obtained,  has  been  introduced. 

The  apprehension  that  affection  would  tempt  to  an  over- 
estimate of  acts  or  traits,  has  led  to  the  omission  of  inci- 
dents and  statements  which  might  otherwise  have  been 
inserted. 

The  delay  in  issuing  these  Memorials  has  arisen  partly 
from  the  difficulty  experienced  in  collecting  and  arranging 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

a  somewhat  crude  mass  of  material,  and  partly  from  the 
constant  pressure  of  more  immediate  duties.  But  if  any 
member  of  the  family,  or  any  of  Mr.  DODGE'S  friends,  or 
those  who  may  have  known  him  personally  or  by  name, 
can  derive  from  the  reading  of  these  pages  something 
of  the  enjoyment  and  inspiration  that  come  from  living 
over  again  such  a  life,  however  inadequately  portrayed, 
one  object  in  preparing  this  volume  will  be  abundantly 
accomplished. 


MEMORIALS 


OF 


WILLIAM    E.    DODGE. 


{ 

MEMORIALS 


OF 


WILLIAM    E.   DODGE- 


CHAPTER  i. 

ANCESTORS.  — EARLY   LIFE. —MARRIAGE. 

WHEN  the  representatives  of  the  numerous  and 
widely  scattered  Dodge  family  assembled  at  Salem, 
Mass.,  July  10,  1879,  to  celebrate  the  two  hundred  and 
fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  landing  in  this  country  of  their 
first  ancestor,  William  Dodge,  they  accepted  with  some 
satisfaction  the  claim  of  the  historian  of  the  occasion,  that 
"  Peter  Dodge,  of  the  town  of  Stopworth,  in  the  County 
of  Chester,  Gentleman,"  did  such  loyal  and  valiant  service 
for  the  good  content  of  his  Sovereign  Lord,  Edward  I., 
son  of  King  Henry  III.,  that  he  and  his  heirs  forever  were 
entitled  "  to  have,  enjoy,  and  use "  a  coat-of-arms,  fully 
described  in  a  patent  bearing  date  of  April  8,  1306.  This 
document  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  ancient  records 
of  the  Heralds'  College.  It  relates  that  it  was  in  Ed- 
ward's battles  against  "  his  great  enemy  and  rebel,  Baliol, 
King  of  Scotland  and  Vassal  of  England,"  that  Peter 
Dodge  distinguished  himself,  and  in  recompense  received 
"  the  Lordship  of  Podenhughe,  with  the  Barony  of  Cold- 
ingham,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Scotland."  This  barony  be- 
longed to  a  family  of  the  ancient  Scotch  nobility,  and  was 


2  ANCESTORS.     EARLY   LIFE.      MARRIAGE. 

situated  on  the  coast  in  Berwickshire,  at  no  great  distance 
from  Melrose  Abbey.  It  seems  doubtful  whether  the 
English  soldier  ever  took  possession  of  his  Scottish  titles 
and  lands,  but  it  was  certainly  in  this  district  of  Berwick 
and  Dunbar  that  he  won  the  crest  and  arms  he  gave  to 
his  posterity. 

One  of  these  descendants,  "  John  Dodge,  of  Rotham, 
in  the  County  of  Kent,  Gentleman,"  was  granted,  in  1547, 
a  confirmation  of  the  early  patent,  with  the  right,  appar- 
ently to  add  further  heraldic  emblems. 

It  was  in  Cheshire,  therefore,  on  the  southern  bank  of 
the  Mersey,  opposite  modern  Liverpool,  having  its  county- 
seat  and  cathedral  in  venerable  Chester,  that  we  may  lo- 
cate the  original  home  of  the  Dodge  family.  Its  branches 
spread  out  into  Lancashire,  Bedfordshire,  Middlesex,  Kent, 
and  Norfolk.  The  name  is  found  also  in  Glasgow,  in  the 
Lowlands,  and  along  the  Border. 

The  first  American  ancestor,  William  Dodge,  was  among 
the  passengers  of  "  The  Lyon's  Whelpe,"  which  arrived  at 
Salem  July  10,  1629.  He  is  mentioned  as  a  "skilful  hus- 
bandman" and  as  having  charge  of  "ye  teame  of  horses." 
The  annals  of  the  Colony  are  careful  to  style  him  "  Mr.," 
—  a  title  at  that  time  confined  to  persons  holding  some 
social  position.  He  was  admitted  as  a  freeman  of  Salem 
in  1639,  took  part  in  founding  Beverly  Church  in  1667, 
and  became  a  selectman  of  that  town  in  the  following  year. 
In  person  he  seems  to  have  conformed  to  the  ancient 
Briton  type,  —  dark  complexion,  hair,  and  eyes,  large  of 
stature,  well  formed,  and  athletic.  One  of  his  darine 

o 

exploits  with  the  Indians  is  particularly  chronicled.  Some 
of  these  traits  of  person  and  character  have  been  repeated 
all  down  the  line,  and  were  noticeable  even  in  the  subject 
of  this  sketch. 

Richard  Dodge  was  a  brother  of  the  first  William. 
From  these  two  have  sprung  families  to  be  found  in 
almost  every  State  of  the  Union.  The  name  figures 


ANCESTORS.      EARLY   LIFE.      MARRIAGE.  3 

honorably  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  in  every  national 
struggle  since.  Members  of  the  Dodge  family  have  be- 
longed to  every  profession  and  calling,  and  in  many  cases 
have  risen  to  places  of  distinction.  Several  have  occupied 
seats  in  one  or  both  Houses  of  Congress  and  in  State  legis- 
latures. Some  have  always  been  found,  who,  in  the  words 
of  their  ancient  patent,  have  "  valiantly  served  towards  the 
public  good,  and  encouraged  their  heirs  and  successors  to 
follow  in  like  virtue  and  noble  conduct." 

But  far  more  than  any  supposed  antiquity  or  eminence 
of  earlier  progenitors,  William  E.  Dodge  prized  the  simple 
godliness  and  personal  worth  of  his  immediate  ancestors. 

His  father,  David  Low  Dodge,  was  descended  from  a 
Congregational  minister,  a  man  of  some  learning  and 
wealth.  His  great-grandfather,  David  Dodge,  received  a 
liberal  education,  apparently  in  England,  and  is  described 
as  a  man  of  large  size,  fine  form,  and  unusual  strength.  He 
married  Anna  Low,  a  lady  of  piety  and  accomplishments. 
They  settled  in  Beverly,  Mass. ;  but  extravagant  living  ex- 
hausted an  ample  estate,  and  a  commission  in  the  army 
had  to  be  obtained.  Before  leaving  to  take  part  in  the 
old  French  War  when  the  British  and  American  armies 
invaded  Canada,  the  father  apprenticed  one  of  his  two 
sons,  then  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  the  third  David  Dodge, 
to  a  respectable  landholder,  who  was  also  a  carpenter  by 
trade.  Later  in  life  this  son,  by  the  advice  of  his  friend 
old  General  Israel  Putnam,  became  a  manufacturer  of  army 
wagons  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  paid  in  State 
and  Continental  paper-money,  which  afterwards  depreci- 
ated, and  finally  lost  all  value.  He  then  devoted  himself 
to  farming.  This  was  the  grandfather  of  William  E. 
Dodge.  His  great-grandmother,  when  a  girl,  was  known 
as  Mary  Stuart,  her  father  being  a  refugee  from  Scotland. 
He  is  represented  as  "  a  tall  man,  with  light  complexion, 
sandy  hair  and  black  eyes,  of  gentlemanly  manners,  and 
remarkable  for  the  richness  of  his  dress.  He  spoke 


4  ANCESTORS.      EARLY  LIFE.      MARRIAGE. 

French  more  fluently  than  English."  Before  his  marriage 
he  declared  to  the  clergyman  "  that  he  was  connected  with 
the  royal  family  of  Stuarts,  and  that  he  and  his  friends 
were  associated  with  those  who  claimed  the  crown."  No 
further  information  in  this  direction  has  been  handed  down. 
It  is  known,  however,  that  about  this  time  Cavaliers  at- 
tached to  the  interests  of  the  Stuarts  visited  the  Colonies, 
and  some  settled  here.  During  a  happy  married  life  of 
several  years  this  gentleman  visited  France  once  or  twice. 
From  his  last  voyage  he  did  not  return,  and  his  wife  died 
from  grief.  Their  only  child,  a  daughter,  married  William 
Earl,  of  Pomfret  (now  Brooklyn),  Conn.,  who  afterwards 
died  in  Havana,  where  he  had  gone  as  an  officer  in  the 
English  expedition  against  the  Island  of  Cuba.  His  widow 
married  David  Dodge  in  1768.  She  was  "  a  rigid  Calvinist 
of  the  Whitefield  school,"  and  both  were  "  careful  to  ob- 
serve external  ordinances,  catechise  their  children,  and 
give  religious  instruction." 

Their  son,  David  Low  Dodge,  learned  his  letters  and  re- 
ceived some  of  his  first  religious  impressions  from  a  vener- 
able Irish  schoolmistress,  whose  pious  memory  he  always 
cherished.  As  he  grew  older,  the  distance  of  his  home 
from  any  school  deprived  him  of  opportunities  for  suitable 
instruction ;  but  in  the  long  evenings  he  would  often  place 
his  lamp  in  the  old  kitchen  oven,  and  spend  hours  over  his 
slate  and  arithmetic.  One  or  two  serious  injuries  when  a 
young  man  confined  him  to  the  house  for  some  weeks, 
and  these  he  gave  to  hard  study,  although  the  list  of  books 
he  possessed,  or  could  borrow,  was  small.  Finally,  before 
coming  of  age  he  bought  off  his  remaining  time  from  his 
father,  and  obtained  the  charge  of  a  district  school.  Here 
he  introduced  some  original  methods,  and  in  a  few  years 
gained  a  wide  reputation  as  a  teacher.  His  last  school  was 
at  Norwich,  Conn.  The  love  for  books  continued  through 
life ;  and  in  his  maturer  and  advanced  years  he  became 
the  author  of  several  treatises,  —  notably  one  or  two  vol- 


ANCESTORS.      EARLY  LIFE.     MARRIAGE.  5 

umes  opposing  war  as  anti-Christian  in  spirit  and  practice. 
The  energy  and  self-reliance  which  made  the  self-educated 
and  successful  schoolmaster,  developed  into  the  alert,  sa- 
gacious, enterprising  merchant,  with  his  own  independent 
plans  of  conducting  business,  wide  connections,  and  rapid 
accumulations.  In  1805,  the  year  William  was  born,  his 
father  entered  into  partnership  with  some  relatives  by  mar- 
riage, the  Messrs.  S.  &  H.  Higginson,  a  Boston  firm  of 
long  standing.  Mr.  Dodge  opened  the  New  York  branch ; 
but  it  stood  as  a  distinct  concern,  and  was  not  involved  in 
the  bankruptcy,  d'uring  1811,  of  the  Boston  house,  caused 
by  the  ruin  of  their  extensive  shipping  interests,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  embargo  imposed  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 
This  disaster  led,  however,  to  the  dissolution  of  the  New 
York  firm,  and  Mr.  Dodge  next  became  head  of  the  Bozrah 
Manufacturing  Company,  in  connection  with  which  he 
erected  the  first  cotton-mill  in  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

The  fact  that  attracts  chief  attention  in  the  history  of  the 
father,  and  that  could  not  fail  to  influence  the  character  of 
the  son,  was  the  religious  earnestness  of  Mr.  David  Dodge 
in  the  midst  of  his  most  absorbing  business  enterprises. 
Soon  after  his  marriage  he  took  part  in  revival  work,  and 
later,  when  established  in  Hartford,  his  spiritual  life  re- 
ceived a  fresh  awakening.  He  began  to  give  less  attention 
to  the  political  questions  of  the  day ;  and  though  engaged 
in  a  large  and  increasing  business,  he  found  opportunity  for 
religious  and  theological  reading,  and  even  wrote  some  ar- 
ticles for  the  "  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine."  About 
that  date  he  visited  Simsbury,  Conn,  (now  Canton  Centre), 
and  spent  a  week,  assisting  at  revival  meetings  in  the 
church,  then  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock. 
At  Litchfield,  where  he  had  a  branch  store,  and  often  went 
himself,  a  revival  also  began ;  and  he  sent  his  chief  clerk 
there,  ostensibly  to  examine  the  accounts,  but  with  the 
hope  that  he  might  be  brought  under  the  power  of  the 
spiritual  work  then  in  progress. 


6  ANCESTORS.      EARLY   LIFE.      MARRIAGE. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  often  under  the  necessity  of  carrying 
large  sums  of  money  from  place  to  place.  He  was  always 
an  expert  marksman  with  the  rifle ;  and  as  his  travelling 
for  business  purposes  increased,  he  took  the  precaution  to 
practise  with  pistols,  —  made  after  his  own  design,  —  until 
he  could  fire  accurately  and  on  the  instant.  One  night, 
stopping  at  an  hotel,  the  proprietor  suddenly  entered  the 
room  by  mistake,  and  Mr.  Dodge  was  on  the  point  of 
shooting  him.  Reflection  upon  what  might  have  been  the 
result,  led  Mr.  Dodge  to  examine  the  Scriptural  and  other 
grounds  for  self-defence,  and  then  of  war  in  general.  It  was 
at  this  time  he  published  the  essay  on  "  The  Mediator's 
Kingdom  not  of  this  World;"  and  after  public  discussion 
had  been  aroused,  the  other  work  entitled,  "  War  inconsist- 
ent with  the  Religion  of  Jesus  Christ."  A  few  years  later 
he  united  with  others  in  forming  the  New  York  Peace  So- 
ciety, Mr.  Dodge  being  made  president.  This  is  believed 
to  be  the  first  society  of  the  kind  ever  publicly  organized. 
It  took  form  largely  from  an  earlier  and  more  private 
association,  which  originated  in  a  gathering  at  Mr.  Dodge's 
house  in  1808  of  a  few  earnest  and  evangelical  spirits  who 
allied  themselves  in  what  they  called  a  Christian  Friendly 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Morals  and  Religion.  The 
labors  of  this  body  revealed  the  general  want  of  Bibles  for 
gratuitous  distribution,  and  measures  were  taken  to  organ- 
ize the  New  York  Bible  Society.  From  this  fountain 
sprang  also  the  New  York  Tract  Society ;  and  it  was  in 
Mr.  Dodge's  parlors  that  pious  clerks  of  his  own  and  other 
stores  formed  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  —  the 
forerunner  of  City  Missions  and  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations. 

One  further  illustration  of  Mr.  David  Dodge's  fixed  pur- 
pose to  recognize  the  sovereignty  of  religion  in  business 
affairs  will  indicate  the  kind  of  inheritance  he  left  to  his 
son.  The  associates  who  established  the  cotton-mill  at 
Bozrahville  sought  at  their  first  meeting  the  Divine  guid- 


ANCESTORS.      EARLY   LIFE.     MARRIAGE.  7 

ance,  and  then  signed  a  form  of  covenant,  pledging  them- 
selves to  maintain,  as  a  primary  object,  a  moral  and 
religious  establishment  Preference  was  given,  as  far  as 
practicable,  to  operatives  who  were  church  members  or 
who  would  value  Christian  privileges ;  and  although  strict 
regulations  were  enforced,  a  superior  body  of  working-peo- 
ple was  always  found  there.  About  the  time  of  opening 
the  factory  an  interesting  revival  was  in  progress  at  a  vil- 
lage not  far  distant.  The  minister  who  conducted  it  was 
invited  to  visit  Bozrahville,  and  a  large  unoccupied  loft  of 
the  mill  was  fitted  up  for  services.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  series  of  revivals  in  the  manufacturing  village. 
Two  of  the  converts  became  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  one 
of  them  going  abroad  as  a  missionary.  Mr.  Dodge's  own 
family  also  shared  largely  in  the  spiritual  blessing.  After 
twelve  years  Mr.  Dodge  returned  once  more  to  New  York, 
and  embarked  again  in  the  dry-goods  business ;  but  was 
only  fairly  established  when  heavy  losses  from  the  failure 
of  two  large  creditors  of  high  standing  led  him  to  abandon 
active  life  and  remove  to  a  country  home  in  Plainfield, 
N.  J.  A  few  years  before  his  death  he  came  back  again  to 
New  York,  and  employed  his  still  active  powers  in  exten- 
sive reading  and  writing  upon  religious  and  theological,  as 
well  as  general  topics,  leaving  behind  him  a  number  of 
interesting  manuscripts.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Old  Col- 
legiate Presbyterian  Church  as  early  as  1809,  and  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  this  office  in  the  Wall  Street  Church 
when  Dr.  Miller  was  pastor.  His  name  is  still  found  on 
the  tablet  in  the  vestibule  of  the  newer  church  building  on 
Fifth  Avenue,  between  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Streets.  He 
was  an  elder  of  the  Laight  Street  Church  when  his  brother- 
in-law,  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Cox,  D.D.,  was  pastor,  and  also 
in  the  Prince  Street  Church,  which  was  designed  especially 
for  preaching  to  the  poor  and  promoting  revival  efforts. 
Here  Mr.  Finney,  the  famous  evangelist,  began  his  labors 
in  New  York. 


8  ANCESTORS.     EARLY  LIFE.     MARRIAGE. 

Mr.  David  Dodge  died  April  23,  1852,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight,  surrounded  by  children  and  grandchildren, 
and  with  a  patriarchal  blessing  on  his  lips.  The  records 
of  the  session  of  the  Fourteenth  Street  Church  (corner  of 
Second  Avenue,  New  York),  of  which  he  was  an  elder,  in 
making  official  mention  of  his  death,  say,  in  part :  "  His 
delight  and  proficiency  in  the  study  of  God's  word;  his 
devotedness  and  consistency  as  a  Christian;  his  ample 
experience,  sound  judgment,  and  eminent  fidelity  as  an 
elder,  —  endeared  him  to  us  in  life,  and  render  his  memory 
very  precious." 

If  William  E.  Dodge  was  thus  largely  indebted  to  the 
sterner  qualities,  the  faithful  instructions,  and  the  impres- 
sive example  of  his  father,  the  finer  elements  of  his  nature 
were  due  to  the  character  of  his  mother. 

Sarah  Cleveland's  family  sprang  from  vigorous  Saxon 
stock  in  Yorkshire,  England.  Its  branches  can  claim  dis- 
tinguished representatives  both  in  England  and  America. 
Her  grandfather,  Rev.  Aaron  Cleveland,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  College  in  1735,  was  originally  a  Congregational 
minister,  but  afterwards  crossed  the  Atlantic,  took  Epis- 
copal orders,  and  was  made  rector  of  a  church  in  Nova 
Scotia.  He  subsequently  died  at  Philadelphia,  in  the 
house  of  his  friend  Benjamin  Franklin.  Her  father,  bear- 
ing the  same  name,  early  manifested  a  taste  for  books,  and 
showed  some  poetic  talent  He  was  also  fond  of  meta- 
physical studies,  and  was  known  as  a  ready  speaker.  After 
spending  a  number  of  years  in  business  he  entered  the 
Congregational  ministry.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
in  Connecticut  to  call  in  question  the  lawfulness  of  slavery. 
In  1775  he  published  a  poem  denouncing  the  system  as 
contrary  to  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion.  One 
result  of  the  excitement  aroused  on  this  subject  was  his 
own  election  to  the  Connecticut  General  Assembly,  where 
he  introduced  a  bill  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  State. 
He  possessed  brilliant  talents  and  keen  wit,  and  was  much 


ANCESTORS.      EARLY   LIFE.      MARRIAGE.  9 

courted  on  account  of  his  genial  companionship.  His  child 
Sarah  Cleveland  was  born  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  Nov.  7, 
1780,  her  mother  being  Abiah  Hyde,  a  daughter  of  James 
Hyde,  of  Norwich,  Conn.  One  brother,  Rev.  Charles  Cleve- 
land, of  Boston,  lived  to  within  a  few  days  of  his  hundredth 
year,  and  was  widely  known  and  loved  for  his  devotion  to 
the  poor.  Her  sister  Susan,  who  married  Harry  Pratt  of 
Hartford,  and  subsequently  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  lived  to 
nearly  the  same  age. 

Sarah  as  a  young  girl  was  evidently  bright,  vivacious, 
and  affectionate.  Her  grandchildren  believe  she  must  also 
have  been  beautiful.  They  certainly  remember  how  her 
sweetness  tempered  the  somewhat  austere  atmosphere  of 
the  country  home  they  were  wont  to  visit  in  the  summer. 
They  recall  the  tender  solicitude  she  manifested  during 
her  declining  years  in  all  the  affairs  of  her  numerous  de- 
scendants, and  particularly  how  she  watched  for  their  spiri- 
tual prosperity.  Every  birthday  was  kept  in  mind,  and 
not  one  allowed  to  pass  without  special  prayer.  She  was 
a  woman  of  sound  judgment,  much  intelligence,  remark- 
able activity,  and  simple,  unquestioning  piety.  She  thor- 
oughly believed  in  the  power  of  prayer,  and  was  one  of 
the  seven  mothers  who  originated  the  New  York  City 
Maternal  Association.  She  survived  her  husband  ten 
years,  and  died,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  in  the  house  of  her 
son  William,  with  whom  she  lived  during  her  later  years. 

Connecticut  can  boast  an  honorable  list  of  men  who 
have  made  their  way  up  to  places  of  influence,  and  to  this 
number  the  city  of  Hartford  has  furnished  a  generous 
quota. 

Here,  September  4,  1805,  William  Earl  Dodge  was 
born.  The  old  brick  house  once  stood  on  what  was 
called  Lord's  Hill,  west  of  the  present  railroad  station; 
but  modern  changes  have  swept  it  away. 

During  his  first  year  the  business  engagements  of  his 
father  carried  the  family  to  New  York,  and  when  he  was 


10  ANCESTORS.      EARLY   LIFE.      MARRIAGE. 

seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  to  Norwich,  Conn.  A  let- 
ter written  by  his  mother  at  the  time  he  was  five  says, 
"  William  has  learned  his  lesson  well  on  his  birthday ;  and 
I  hope  it  will  continue  through  the  year,  for  I  still  instruct 
him  at  home."  Two  years  later  the  conclusion  of  the  War 
of  1812  was  celebrated,  and  William  could  distinctly  re- 
member how  the  boys  ran  around  the  streets,  writing  with 
chalk  on  the  fences  the  joyful  word,  Peace  !  Peace  ! 

His  childhood  showed  the  dawning  of  the  traits  which 
afterwards  distinguished  him.  His  youngest  and  only 
surviving  sister,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Kinney,  tells  lovingly  of  the 
unselfish,  gallant  boy,  who  was  always  quick  to  do  some 
kind  act  for  his  sisters,  or  to  step  forward  as  their  cham- 
pion. He  was  fertile  in  finding  amusements  for  them,  be- 
came their  tender  nurse  in  sickness,  and  in  their  childish 
quarrels  was  the  wise  and  good-natured  peacemaker. 
But  there  was  no  effeminacy,  no  unnatural  soberness  or 
sentimentality.  His  beaming  face,  bright  dark  eye,  hearty 
laugh,  and  perpetual  activity,  not  to  mention  his  decided 
partiality  for  horses,  showed  the  wide-awake,  genuine  boy ; 
while  his  clear  head,  ready  sympathy,  and  considerate 
helpfulness  made  him  everywhere  welcome.  Once  or 
twice  he  narrowly  escaped  death  from  disease  or  acci- 
dent. On  one  occasion,  in  childhood,  a  resort  to  desperate 
remedies  by  his  resolute  father  alone  saved  his  life ;  and 
when  older,  both  father  and  son  were  nearly  killed  by  the 
running  away  of  a  high-spirited  pair  of  horses.  A  serious 
injury  at  this  time  made  the  father  lose  all  further  interest 
in  horses ;  but  the  son  always  retained  his  love  for  them. 
William  attended  school  in  New  York,  afterwards  at  Nor- 
wich, and  still  later  at  Mendham,  N.  J.  His  father's 
experience  as  a  teacher  was  of  peculiar  service  to  him  in 
the  selection  of  books  and  the  carrying  on  of  courses  of 
study  after  he  had  begun  to  be  a  clerk;  but  his  chief 
schooling  was  among  men  and  in  efforts  to  solve  the  daily 
problems  of  life.  He  was  always  an  eager  and  constant 


ANCESTORS.      EARLY   LIFE.      MARRIAGE.  II 

reader,  and  as  a  young  man  he  mastered  many  solid 
works,  including  several  standard  histories. 

From  his  earliest  years  he  had  been  singularly  respon- 
sive to  religious  impressions.  Frank,  generous,  cheerful, 
energetic,  upright  in  his  dealings,  and  instinctively  shun- 
ning evil  practices  and  associates,  he  had  long  been  re- 
garded by  his  friends  as  a  child  of  God;  but  at  about 
sixteen  years  of  age,  when  residing  at  Bozrahville,  he 
appeared  to  become  more  deeply  conscious  of  his  own 
sinfulness,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have  enlarged  views 
of  God's  mercy  to  sinners  through  Christ.  He  listened 
thoughtfully  and  candidly  to  what  was  said  from  the  pulpit 
or  in  private  gatherings.  He  had  probably  never  neglected 
reading  the  Bible  or  maintaining  the  habit  of  prayer. 
About  this  time  also  one  or  two  events  occurred  which 
tended  still  more  to  deepen  his  seriousness.  He  was  help- 
ing to  load  some  boxes  into  a  wagon  at  the  door,  when  he 
was  unexpectedly  called  back  into  the  store.  Another 
clerk  took  his  place,  and  the  next  instant  a  heavy  iron 
pulley  dropped  from  above  and  struck  the  young  man 
senseless  to  the  ground.  He  recovered  consciousness, 
but  died  in  a  few  days.  William  was  constantly  at  his 
bedside,  ministering  to  his  comfort  and  directing  his 
mind  to  Christ;  but  his  own  providential  escape  was  not 
forgotten. 

Dr.  Asabel  Nettleton,  the  eminent  revivalist,  was  then 
laboring  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  Mr.  Dodge  was  anxious 
to  have  his  son  come  under  such  inspiring  influences. 
William  was  often  selected  to  take,  a  load  of  cotton  goods 
from  the  factory  to  this  city;  and  his  father  now  improved 
the  opportunity  for  such  an  errand,  making  an  additional 
excuse  for  delay  there  by  telling  him  to  wait  for  some 
copies  of  the  "  Village  Hymns,"  which  had  just  been  pub- 
lished for  the  first  time,  and  were  being  bound.  Mr.  Dodge 
also  arranged  to  have  him  stay  with  friends  who,  he  knew, 
were  interested  in  the  meetings.  For  a  week  or  more 


12  ANCESTORS.     EARLY  LIFE.     MARRIAGE. 

William  attended  the  solemn  services,  and  was  deeply 
impressed.  As  he  was  about  to  return,  he  called  upon 
Dr.  Hawes,  pastor  of  the  Centre  Church;  and  he  never 
forgot  his  parting  remark :  "  What !  Going  home,  and 
taking  that  hard  heart  with  you?" 

The  words  came  again  and  again  to  mind  as  he  drove 
slowly  back  alone.  Soon  after,  at  a  prayer-meeting,  con- 
ducted on  that  occasion  by  Mr.  Erastus  Hyde,  assistant 
agent  in  the  mill,  a  man  of  unaffected  piety,  an  invitation 
was  given  to  any  who  felt  anxious  respecting  their  spirit- 
ual condition,  and  desired  the  prayers  of  Christians,  to 
signify  their  wish  by  rising.  William  was  instantly  upon 
his  feet  His  next  younger  and  warmly  attached  sister, 
Mary,  joined  him,  and  in  a  few  moments  ten  or  twelve 
others.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  revival  that  spread 
through  the  community,  and  extended  into  the  country 
around.  From  that  eventful  Sabbath  evening,  June  8, 
1821,  William's  life  seemed  to  take  on  new  earnestness. 
The  decision  he  had  made  was  final,  and  without  reserve. 
One  of  his  first  steps  was  to  induce  a  few  young  converts 
in  the  village  to  establish  a  meeting  for  mutual  Bible- 
study  and  prayer. 

On  the  first  Sabbath  in  May,  1822,  he,  in  company  with 
his  sister  Mary  and  several  others,  united  with  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Bozrah,  then  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  Rev.  David  Austin. 

William's  Christian  character  now  developed  rapidly. 
He  was  blessed  in  the  friendship  of  James  Brainerd  Taylor, 
whose  piety  was  of  a  rich  and  ardent  type,  and  whose 
labors  for  the  spiritual  good  of  all  about  him  were  most 
abundant.  William  took  an  active  part  in  religious  meet- 
ings and  efforts  of  every  kind,  and  thus  early  acquired 
that  readiness,  fitness,  and  zeal  in  Christian  work  which 
afterwards  distinguished  him,  and  which  made  him  so  wel- 
come and  efficient  in  times  of  spiritual  awakening,  and  in 
his  personal  influence  wherever  he  went. 


ANCESTORS.     EARLY   LIFE.    MARRIAGE.  13 

The  family  returned  to  New  York  in  1825,  and  here  his 
energies  found  at  once  a  congenial  and  a  larger  sphere. 
He  began  to  feel  the  pressure  of  increased  business  respon- 
sibilities ;  but  his  activity  and  earnestness  were  not  confined 
to  Pearl  Street  and  dry-goods.  He  became  warmly  inter- 
ested in  Sunday-schools,  —  then  in  their  infancy.  With  a 
number  of  like-minded  companions,  he  assisted  in  organ- 
izing the  New  York  Young  Men's  Bible  Society.  In  the 
Laight  Street  Church,  where  he  became  a  member,  and 
over  which  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  H.  Cox,  was  settled, 
he  found  ample  scope  for  various  forms  of  Christian  labor. 

His  father,  fresh  from  revivals  in  Connecticut,  opened 
his  house  for  weekly  prayer-meetings  for  young  people. 
William  took  a  prominent  part  in  these  gatherings,  and 
was  also  active  in  distributing  tracts,  in  visiting  the  sick 
and  poor,  and  in  working  for  sailors.  The  Rev.  S.  Irenaeus 
Prime,  D.D.,  a  friend  long  and  affectionately  esteemed  by 
Mr.  Dodge,  published  in  the  "  New  York  Observer "  an 
article  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray  (Kirwin)  of 
Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  describing  a  prayer-meeting  held  at  Aunt 
Betsey's,  an  old  bedridden  colored  woman  living  in  Ann 
Street.  It  was  attended  by  several  young  men,  who  were 
in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  aged  saint  to  comfort  and 
relieve  her,  but  in  reality  to  learn  from  her,  lessons  of 
patience  and  practical  Christian  wisdom.  William  was 
of  this  number,  and  also  Daniel  James,  his  future  brother- 
in-law  and  partner;  William  B.  Kinney,  in  later  years  also 
a  brother-in-law,  and  representative  of  the  United  States  at 
the  court  of  Italy  in  the  days  of  Count  Cavour,  whose 
personal  friend  he  became ;  and  James  Harper,  afterwards 
of  Harper  Brothers,  and  mayor  of  New  York. 

In  the  circle  of  Mr.  David  Dodge's  family  friends  none 
were  more  respected  and  cherished  than  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Anson  G.  Phelps.  They  also  had  removed  from  Hartford, 
Conn.,  and  had  come  to  reside  in  New  York,  about  the 
year  1813,  living  at  first  in  a  large  brick  house  on  Broad- 


14  ANCESTORS.    EARLY  LIFE.     MARRIAGE. 

way,  opposite  St.  Paul's  Church,  but  soon  changing,  on 
account  of  the  noise  of  the  thoroughfare,  to  Beekman 
Street,  near  Old  St.  George's  Church,  —  where  a  spacious 
fruit-garden  was  an  attraction,  —  and  afterwards  moving 
to  Cliff  Street,  near  Fulton.  The  growth  of  the  city 
led  them  later  on  to  Fourth  Street,  between  Second  and 
Third  Avenues;  and  they  finally  occupied  a  noble  old 
mansion,  with  extensive  grounds,  reaching  to  the  banks 
of  the  East  River,  at  the  foot  of  Thirtieth  Street.  The 
two  households  were  intimate,  and  the  younger  members 
frequently  saw  each  other.  William  had  early  resolved 
never  to  become  engaged  until  he  was  of  age,  and  not 
then  unless  he  could  properly  support  a  wife.  But  long 
before  these  conditions  were  realized  he  had  definitely 
fixed  it  in  his  own  mind  that  when  circumstances  should 
permit,  the  one  person  he  supremely  desired  and  deter- 
mined to  win  was  Mr.  Phelps's  second  daughter,  Melissa. 
She  too,  years  afterwards,  confessed  that  other  suitors, 
though  perhaps  entitled  to  consideration,  had  small  favor 
with  her,  because  she  always  remembered  two  bright  black 
eyes  and  the  attractive  owner  of  them.  But  William  was 
not  permitted  at  once  to  discover  this  partiality.  He 
experienced,  however,  unusual  enjoyment  in  attending 
prayer-meetings  at  Mr.  Phelps's  house,  or  accepting  an 
invitation  to  tea,  or  receiving  an  occasional  suggestion 
from  Mr.  Phelps  that  the  young  ladies  might  need  an 
escort  to  Dr.  Spring's  lecture-room,  or  elsewhere. 

These  occasions  became  more  frequent,  and  the  mutual 
pleasure  they  experienced  in  them  more  evident;  but  a  full 
understanding  was  not  reached  until  that  long-delayed 
twenty-first  birthday  arrived,  and  a  happy  drive  was  taken, 
in  an  old-fashioned  gig,  all  the  way  to  Coney  Island.  The 
letters  which  made  that  drive  possible  were  found  in  the 
traditional  old  box  in  the  attic.  They  are  not  for  the  public 
eye ;  but  some  reference  to  them  may  be  allowed,  as  they 
reveal  the  characteristic  devoutness  and  Christian  consider- 


ANCESTORS.    EARLY  LIFE.    MARRIAGE.  15 

ation  which  led  up  to  the  new  relationship,  and  for  more 
than  half  a  century  crowned  it  with  unusual  happiness. 
The  letter  of  the  anxious  lover  to  his  respected  friends, 
the  parents ;  the  reply  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phelps ;  and  the 
somewhat  formal  but  unmistakably  earnest  appeal  to  the 
"  much-esteemed  friend "  herself,  with  her  own  reserved, 
yet  sufficiently  encouraging  response,  —  all  breathe  the 
same  sincere  desire  for  Divine  guidance.  The  request  to  be 
permitted  to  address  the  daughter  closes :  "  Praying  that 
God,  whose  unseen  hand  directs  in  all  the  concerns  of  life, 
may  lead  you  to  that  conclusion  which  may  be  for  his 
glory  and  our  good  for  time  and  eternity,  I  subscribe 
myself,"  etc.  Mr.  Phelps  replies,  — 

"  We  shall  ever  study  to  promote  the  happiness  of  our  beloved 
daughter ;  and  if  complying  with  your  very  respectful  request 
coincides  with  her  views,  it  will  meet  with  our  perfect  approbation. 
Permit  me  here  to  remark  that  in  addition  to  the  esteem  we  have 
ever  had  for  you  personally,  it  is  greatly  strengthened  by  the  long 
and  uninterrupted  friendship  subsisting  between  your  family  and 
our  own.  Trusting  the  same  Hand  that  has  led  you  both  to  seek 
a  better  good  than  this  world  can  afford  will  still  cause  his  word 
to  be  as  a  cloudy  pillar  by  day  and  a  light  of  fire  by  night  to  guide 
you  safely  through  this  wilderness,  and  finally  to  give  you  an  inher- 
itance among  the  just,  we  remain  your  affectionate  friends." 

The  letter  enclosed  for  the  inspection  of  the  parents,  and 
if  approved  to  be  handed  to  the  daughter,  speaks  of  their 
meeting  for  the  first  time  the  previous  spring.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  William's  residence  in  Connecticut  had 
separated  the  young  people  for  five  or  six  years,  and  at 
just  the  age  when  most  marked  changes  in  person  and 
mind  occur.  Knowing  each  other  as  children,  they  had 
met  again,  on  his  return  to  the  city,  almost  as  strangers. 
He  had  now  developed  into  the  alert,  vigorous,  ambitious 
young  man,  with  more  than  usual  maturity  from  his  early 
responsibilities.  She  had  grown  into  the  tall,  graceful, 
lovely  woman,  not  so  old  as  he  by  four  years,  but  as  an 


1 6  ANCESTORS.    EARLY   LIFE.     MARRIAGE. 

elder  sister,  and  having  a  large  share  in  the  household  and 
social  duties  of  her  father's  hospitable  home,  she  had  seen 
much  of  society,  and  had  also  gained  other  and  wider 
views  of  life  by  her  faithfulness  as  a  Sabbath-school 
teacher  and  as  a  visitor  among  the  poor.  During  the 
interval  correspondence  had  been  maintained  between  the 
families;  and  William  recalled  in  after  years  the  solemn 
impression  he  received  on  hearing  of  the  revival  at  New 
Haven,  where  she  was  attending  school,  and  of  her  uniting 
with  the  church.  In  this  momentous  letter  he  tells  her 
that  their  renewed  acquaintance  had  awakened  a  regard  he 
never  felt  for  any  other  person ;  that  he  had  endeavored 
to  repress  these  feelings,  and  concluded  he  must  avoid 
going  where  she  was ;  yet  when  an  opportunity  occurred 
even  to  attend  a  meeting  where  she  might  come,  his 
resolutions  wholly  failed,  —  he  could  not  resist  the  pleas- 
ure of  accompanying  her  home ;  and  when  she  was  sick 
during  the  past  summer,  he  determined,  as  soon  as  she  re- 
covered, to  make  his  attachment  known.  All  the  more  he 
had  besought  the  Lord  to  be  the  guide  of  his  youth,  and 
not  to  leave  him  to  take  any  step  inconsistent  with  his  will 
and  glory.  He  had  then  purposely  called  at  her  father's 
house  as  often  as  he  could  with  propriety,  anxious  to 
become  better  acquainted  with  "  her  general  views  on  re- 
ligious and  other  subjects."  Each  visit  had  given  increased 
satisfaction;  every  day  had  strengthened  his  affection. 
He  can  never  be  happy  with  any  one  else.  He  is  grateful 
for  the  many  kind  attentions  received  in  her  father's  family, 
but  he  desires  now  to  come  as  something  more  than  a 
friend,  and  to  explain  to  her  his  own  views  and  position. 
He  prays  that  God  may  give  her  wisdom  and  grace  in  de- 
ciding this  important  matter,  and  closes  with  the  hope  that 
she  will  "  not  keep  him  long  in  suspense,  but  as  soon  as 
consistent  grant  him  a  frank  reply,"  adding,  as  postscript, 
that  he  has  his  own  parents'  entire  approbation.  The  reply 
was  frank  enough  to  convince  him  that  his  suit  was  not  in 


ANCESTORS.     EARLY   LIFE.     MARRIAGE.  17 

vain,  and  also  that  perfect  accord  would  be  found  in  rela- 
tion to  religious  questions,  —  a  condition  which  he  believed 
could  alone  insure  a  happy  and  lasting  union. 

They  were  married  two  years  later,  June  24,  1828,  at 
the  old  house,  No.  32  Cliff  Street,  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring,  of 
the  Brick  Church,  officiating. 

On  their  wedding  journey  they  travelled  somewhat  by 
stage,  but  chiefly  in  the  comfortable  two-wheeled  chaise  of 
that  day,  visiting  relatives  and  friends  in  Fairfield,  Hart- 
ford, and  other  parts  of  Connecticut,  not  forgetting  an 
excursion  to  Wadsworth's  Tower  on  Mount  Talcott.  Mr. 
Dodge  loved  to  recount  the  details  of  this  memorable  jour- 
ney, and  ever  afterwards  the  material,  color,  and  trim- 
mings of  his  bride's  travelling-dress  combined  his  ideal  of 
a  becoming  costume.  Nor  did  he  ever  fail,  with  peculiar 
emphasis  and  pleasure,  to  attribute  to  his  union  with  one 
so  worthy  of  his  love,  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  a 
wedded  life  prolonged  and  blessed  beyond  all  ordinary 
experience. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  gain  a  just  conception  of  Mr. 
Dodge's  own  life  and  character  without  some  more  ex- 
tended reference  to  the  history  of  Anson  G.  Phelps,  with 
whom  for  nearly  thirty  years  he  maintained  relations  only 
less  intimate  and  affectionate  than  those  enjoyed  with  a 
wife  who  inherited  her  father's  best  qualities. 

Mr.  Phelps's  ancestors  were  among  the  first  settlers  of 
Connecticut.  They  came  of  "  an  ancient  and  honorable 
family  in  Staffordshire,  England,"  which  embarked  at 
Plymouth  in  the  "  Mary  and  John,"  1630,  and  settled  first 
at  Dorchester,  Mass.,  and  subsequently  at  Windsor,  Conn., 
the  original  pioneer  being  George  Phelps.  The  family 
afterwards  went  to  Simsbury,  Conn.  Lieutenant  Thomas 
Phelps,  Anson's  father,  was  among  the  first  from  that  town 
to  enlist  in  the  revolutionary  army,  and  he  served  through- 
out the  war.  He  named  his  son  after  his  old  commander 
and  friend,  General  Anson  Greene.  The  mother,  Dorothy 


1 8  ANCESTORS.    EARLY   LIFE.     MARRIAGE. 

Lamb  Woodbridge,  was  a  descendant  of  the  Rev.  Timothy 
Woodbridge,  pastor  of  the  First  (Centre)  Church  in  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  from  1685  to  1732,  himself  sprung  from  two 
generations  of  clergymen.  A  man  of  wide  influence,  he 
was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  Yale  College.  His  son, 
the  grandfather  of  Dorothy,  was  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Simsbury,  Conn.,  from  1712  to  1742.  The  reverence  and 
affection  which  Dorothy  inspired  in  her  son,  with  other 
memories  of  her,  show  her  to  have  been  a  woman  of 
refined  and  lovely  character,  earnest  piety,  and  superior 
education.  Simsbury  was  Anson's  birthplace  (1781)  and 
early  home.  Both  parents  dying  before  he  was  twelve,  he 
went  to  live  at  Canton,  a  neighboring  village,  where  he 
learned  the  saddler's  trade  from  an  older  brother.  A  re- 
vival under  the  preaching  of  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hallock,  led  to  his  conversion  when  he  was  eighteen  years 
of  age ;  and  almost  his  first  act  was  to  contribute  all  his 
savings,  some  twenty-five  dollars,  to  aid  a  Universalist, 
brought  to  accept  the  truth  at  the  same  time,  in  preparing 
to  study  for  the  ministry.  Soon  after,  Anson  went  to  Hart- 
ford to  begin  life  for  himself;  while  here  he  united  with 
the  church  where  his  own  ancestor  had  once  preached,  of 
which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nathan  Strong  then  had  charge.  In- 
domitable energy  and  natural  business  talent  led  to  some- 
what rapid  success;  and  for  the  purpose  of  extending 
his  trade  he  spent  several  winters  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  In 
Hartford  he  married  Olivia  Eggleston,  a  lady  of  intelli- 
gence, amiability,  and  force  of  character,  with  a  bright, 
equable,  Christian  spirit,  whose  family  were  old  residents 
of  that  city,  her  mother  being  a  descendant  of  Thomas 
Olcott,  one  of  the  first  settlers.  Mr.  Phelps  had  now 
become  engaged  in  more  general  mercantile  operations, 
and  finally  removed  to  New  York  in  1815,  when  Melissa 
was  about  three  years  old.  From  this  time  until  his  death, 
nearly  forty  years  afterwards,  he  was  closely  identified  with 
the  commercial  and  religious  history  of  that  city.  His 


ANCESTORS.     EARLY   LIFE.     MARRIAGE.  19 

last  pastor,  the  Rev.  George  L.  Prentiss,  D.D.,  then  of  the 
Mercer  Street  Church,  describes  him  as  a  man  of  strong 
and  original  character,  remarkable  for  self-reliance,  an  iron 
will,  solid  and  comprehensive  judgment,  a  sagacious  power 
of  combination  and  forecast,  untiring  perseverance,  good 
common  sense,  and  having  a  constitution  capable  of  im- 
mense labor  and  endurance.     Mr.  Phelps  took  part  in  all 
the  prominent  religious  movements  of  his  day,  being  as- 
sociated in  several  of  them  with  Mr.  David  Dodge.     He 
was  a  manager  of  the   American    Bible   Society,   and  a 
director  of  the  Tract  Society,   of  the   Seamen's  Friends' 
Society,   and   of  the   Peace  Society.      He  was  president 
of  the  New  York   branch    of  the  Colonization   Society, 
and    of   the   Asylum    for    the    Blind,    a   member   of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions, 
and  was  also  connected  with  temperance,  Sunday-school, 
and  similar  organizations.      From  the  time  he  first  ac- 
quired means  of  his  own,  he  exhibited  a  growing  spirit 
of  large  and  wise  liberality.      He  habitually  contributed, 
while   he    lived,  to  a   multitude    of  objects    both    public 
and  private,  and  in  his  will  he  left  bequests  of  a  mag- 
nitude and  number  rarely  surpassed  at  that  time.      His 
business  operations  were  on  a  large  scale,  and  in  various 
directions.     He  was  ambitious  to  accumulate  wealth ;  but 
it  was  the  testimony  of  his  lips  and  of  his  life  that  he  de- 
sired it  chiefly  as  a  means  for  promoting  the  good  of  his 
fellow-men,  and  especially  for  the  extension  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.      Private  diaries   found    after    his    death, 
containing  occasional  entries  for  nearly  fifty  years,  reveal 
an  inner  life  of  singular  humility,  large-heartedness,  and 
honest  longing  for  growth  in  every  Christian  grace. 

Daily  contact  with  a  man  of  this  broad  and  vigorous 
type  had  its  share  in  moulding  the  character  of  William 
E.  Dodge.  In  some  respects  the  two  were  by  nature 
much  alike.  Both  could  seize  upon  a  situation  with  a 
quick  and  comprehensive  grasp.  Both  stood  in  small  fear 


20  ANCESTORS.    EARLY   LIFE.    MARRIAGE. 

of  difficulties.  Their  plans  were  far  reaching,  and  pushed 
with  resolute  self-reliance,  tireless  energy,  and  abounding 
faith.  Both  were  ready  in  resource,  and  thoroughly  en- 
joyed the  stir  and  strain  of  business  life.  They  were  born 
merchants.  Yet  in  both  the  foundation  of  character  was 
a  firm  and  unquestioning  acceptance  of  the  cardinal  truths 
of  the  word  of  God.  Both  early  discovered  the  happiness 
of  working  for  others,  and  both  were  remarkable  for  genial 
and  attractive  personal  traits. 


CHAPTER    II. 

MERCHANT   AND    CITIZEN. 

TT7HEN  nearly  thirteen  years  of  age,  William  was 
*  *  sent  to  boarding-school  at  Mendham,  N.  J.,  where 
his  uncle  by  marriage,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hanson  Cox, 
D.D.,  then  resided.  A  friend  of  the  family,  Mr.  Merritt, 
a  Quaker,  engaged  in  the  wholesale  dry-goods  trade  in 
New  York,  had  long  before  taken  a  fancy  to  the  bright 
boy,  and  secured  a  promise  from  the  father  that  as  soon 
as  the  two  Merritt  brothers  formed  a  partnership,  William 
should  become  a  clerk  in  the  new  house.  The  fulfilment 
of  this  promise  was  now  urged ;  and  Mr.  David  Dodge, 
who  usually  decided  matters  in  his  own  family  somewhat 
autocratically,  wrote  to  his  son,  giving  him  permission  to 
accept  the  offer  if  that  should  be  his  choice.  The  attrac- 
tions of  a  new  and  stirring  life  carried  the  boy  to  the 
great  city.  His  circumstances  there,  how  the  place  ap- 
peared to  his  young  eyes,  and  the  chief  features  of  its 
trade  at  that  time,  can  best  be  given  in  Mr.  Dodge's  own 
words,  in  extracts  from  an  address  delivered  at  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  Hall,  April  27,  1880,  upon 
the  invitation  of  fellow-merchants  and  other  friends. 

"  Eighteen  hundred  and  eighteen  found  me  a  boy  in  a  wholesale 
dry-goods  store,  No.  304  Pearl  Street,  near  Peck  Slip.  It  was  a 
very  different  thing  to  be  a  boy  in  a  store  in  those  days  from  what 
it  is  now.  I  fear  that  many  young  men,  anxious  to  get  started, 
would  hesitate  long  before  facing  such  duties  as  had  then  to  be 
performed.  My  father  lived  at  that  time  at  98  William  Street, 
now  the  corner  of  Platt.  William  Street  was  then  the  fashionable 


22  MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN. 

retail  dry-goods  centre  j  at  No.  90  stood  Peter  Morton's  large 
establishment,  the  fashionable  family  store  of  that  day. 

"  I  had  to  go  every  morning  to  Vandewater  Street  for  the  keys, 
as  my  employers  must  have  them,  in  case  of  fire  in  the  night. 
There  was  much  ambition  among  the  young  men  as  to  who  should 
have  his  store  opened  first,  and  I  used  to  be  up  soon  after  light, 
walk  to  Vandewater  Street,  and  then  to  the  store  very  early.  It 
was  to  be  sprinkled  with  water,  —  which  I  brought  the  evening 
before  from  the  old  pump  at  the  corner  of  Peck  Slip  and  Pearl 
Street,  —  then  carefully  swept  and  dusted. 

"  Afterwards  came  sprinkling  the  sidewalk  and  street,  and 
sweeping  to  the  centre  a  heap  for  the  dirt-cart  to  remove.  This 
done,  one  of  the  older  clerks  would  come,  and  I  was  permitted  to 
go  home  for  breakfast.  In  winter  the  wood  was  to  be  carried  and 
piled  in  the  cellar,  fires  were  to  be  made,  and  lamps  trimmed. 
Junior  clerks  in  those  days  did  the  work  of  porters  now. 

"  The  dry-goods  auction-stores  were  mostly  on  the  corners  and 
on  the  blocks,  from  Wall  to  Pine  Streets.  When  our  employer 
purchased  a  lot  of  goods  at  auction,  it  was  our  business  to  go  and 
compare  them  with  the  bill ;  and  if  two  of  us  could  carry  them 
back,  we  did  so,  as  it  would  save  the  shilling  for  porterage.  I 
remember  that  while  in  this  store  I  carried  bundles  of  goods  up 
Broadway  to  Greenwich  Village,  near  what  are  now  Seventh  and 
Eighth  Avenues,  and  Fourth  to  Tenth  Streets,  crossing  the  old  stone 
bridge  at  Canal  Street.  This  had  long  square  timbers  on  either 
side,  in  place  of  railings,  to  prevent  a  fall  into  the  sluggish  stream, 
some  fifteen  feet  below,  which  came  from  the  low  lands  where 
Centre  Street  and  the  Tombs  now  are.  It  was  the  great  skat- 
ing place  in  winter.  Turning  in  at  the  left  of  the  bridge,  I  took  a 
path  through  the  meadows,  often  crossing  on  two  timbers  laid  over 
the  ditches  where  the  tide  ebbed  and  flowed  from  the  East  River. 
At  this  time  the  wholesale  dry-goods  trade  was  confined  almost 
entirely  to  Pearl  Street,  the  retail  business  being  mostly  in  William 
Street  and  Maiden  Lane,  and  the  cheaper  stores  in  Upper  Pearl 
and  Chatham  Streets.  A  firm  with  $15,000  to  $20,000  capital 
commanded  good  credit,  and  its  annual  sales  seldom  exceeded  a 
few  hundred  thousand. 

"  Business  was  periodical ;  we  had  our  spring  and  fall  trade. 
There  were  but  few  steamboats,  and  no  railroads,  and  it  was  quite 


MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN.  23 

an  event  for  the  country  merchants  to  visit  the  city.  They  gen- 
erally came  twice  a  year,  —  those  from  the  North  and  East  by  the 
Sound  or  North  River  in  sloops  or  schooners;  those  from  the 
West  and  South  by  stage,  or  by  lines  of  vessels  along  the  coast. 
Over  the  stores  in  Pearl  Street  were  numbers  of  boarding-houses 
for  these  country  merchants. 

"  New  York  was  then  a  city  of  less  than  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  Brooklyn  a  town  of  some  seven 
thousand.  Most  of  the  merchants  and  families  of  wealth  lived 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  the  fashionable  residences  being 
chiefly  around  the  Battery,  and  up  Broadway  and  Greenwich 
to  Cortlandt  Street.  Not  more  than  twenty-five  families  kept 
a  two-horse  carriage.  The  Post-Office  was  in  the  parlors  of  a  pri- 
vate house,  altered  for  the  purpose,  at  the  corner  of  William  Street 
and  Exchange  Place.  I  well  remember  the  fun  we  boys  had 
while  waiting  for  the  office  to  open,  crowding  each  other  up  the 
line.  Postage  was  so  high  that  letters  were  sent  by  private  hands 
as  frequently  as  possible.  Wood  was  almost  the  only  fuel ;  stoves 
and  furnaces  had  not  yet  come  into  use.  How  my  feet  and 
fingers  have  ached  as  I  have  stood  at  the  desk  of  a  bitter 
morning  !  " 

The  young  clerk  in  the  employ  of  the  Brothers  Merritt 
was  delighted  to  receive  at  the  end  of  a  year  a  silver 
watch  as  the  reward  for  faithful  service.  It  was  a  massive, 
old-fashioned,  double-cased  timepiece.  He  long  wore  it 
with  pleasure,  and  it  is  still  retained  in  the  family  as  an 
heirloom. 

The  next  year,  1819,  Mr.  David  Dodge  returned,  with 
his  family,  to  Bozrahville,  Conn.,  to  take  charge  of  the 
cotton-mill  that  he  and  his  associates  had  established  there. 
William  learned  that  his  father  was  at  the  time  in  some 
financial  embarrassment,  and  he  determined  to  provide  for 
his  own  support.  He  asked  for  a  position  as  clerk  in  the 
country  store  connected  with  the  factory,  and  was  soon  pop- 
ular among  the  customers  for  his  quickness  and  courtesy. 

Old  women  and  farmers'  wives,  coming  on  horseback  to 
exchange  butter  and  eggs  for  dry-goods  and  groceries, 


24  MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN. 

would  wait  for  William  to  help  them  dismount,  bring  in 
their  saddle-bags,  and  serve  them  at  the  counter.  By  way 
of  encouragement  to  earn  something  for  himself,  his  father 
gave  him  the  use  of  a  separate  show-case  at  the  end  of  the 
store.  William  purchased  a  variety  of  small  articles  from 
pedlers  and  others,  and  sold  them  at  a  moderate  advance. 
These  little  accumulations  were  part  of  his  meagre  capital 
later  on. 

His  willingness  and  ability,  however,  gradually  led  him 
to  assume  more  than  his  share  of  the  work.  He  became 
at  last  so  constantly  occupied  that  he  often  neglected  to 
go  home  for  his  regular  meals,  and  tried  to  satisfy  his 
appetite  by  eating  crackers  and  cheese  as  he  went  about 
the  store.  This  neglect  brought  on  a  long  attack  of  ner- 
vous prostration. 

When  he  began  to  recover,  the  season  for  huckleberries 
had  come,  and  he  always  spoke  of  them  as  his  best  medi- 
cine at  that  time.  Long  drives  in  a  wagon  without  springs 
was  another  part  of  his  convalescent  regime.  At  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  was  accustomed  to  go  to  New  York  to 
make  the  entire  purchases  for  this  store. 

In  1825  the  mill  was  sold,  and  the  family  came  again  to 
New  York.  Mr.  Dodge  opened  a  dry-goods  store  at  113 
Beekman  Street,  with  William  to  assist  him.  The  year 
following,  the  firm  of  Dodge  &  Gregory  was  formed,  and 
the  business  removed  to  78  Maiden  Lane,  and  later  to 
227  Pearl  Street.  In  1827  William  left  his  father  and  be- 
gan the  wholesale  dry-goods  business  on  his  own  account 
at  213  Pearl  Street.  He  thus  refers  to  it  in  his  lecture  on 
Old  New  York :  — 

"  A  retired  Connecticut  merchant  with  whom  I  had  done  busi- 
ness most  of  the  time  while  a  clerk,  had  a  son  just  graduated  from 
Yale  whom  he  was  anxious  to  place  in  New  York ;  and  having  heard 
that  I  was  intending  to  commence  for  myself,  proposed  a  co- 
partnership with  his  son.  He  offered  to  furnish  an  amount  of  capital, 
which,  with  the  small  sum  I  had  (mostly  savings  from  my  salary) 


MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN.  2$ 

would  make  for  those  days  a  respectable  beginning,  and  further- 
more promised  to  indorse  for  us  to  any  reasonable  amount. 

"  There  are  few  events  in  a  man's  life  more  important  than  that 
which  introduces  him  into  active  business  on  his  own  account ;  and 
as  my  partner  had  no  experience,  I  felt  the  more  responsibility. 
A  few  weeks  after  we  started,  and  when  our  stock  of  goods  was 
small,  three  young  men  stepped  into  the  store,  each  having  two 
large  tin  trunks,  which  he  carried  in  his  hands,  aided  by  a  large 
strap  over  the  shoulders.  I  saw  at  once  they  were  Connecticut 
pedlers.  They  were  attracted  by  some  article  in  the  window. 
After  giving  them  the  price,  and  while  they  set  down  their  loads  to 
rest  and  talk,  I  said  to  them  :  '  I  see  you  are,  like  myself,  just  start- 
ing in  business  ;  now,  let  me  make  you  a  proposition.  There  is 
plenty  of  room  in  our  store  ;  each  of  you  take  one  of  these  pigeon- 
holes under  the  shelves,  put  your  trunks  there,  in  place  of  carrying 
them  around  while  you  are  picking  up  your  goods,  and  order  all 
you  buy  to  be  sent  here.  We  will  take  charge  of  your  purchases, 
pack  and  ship  them ;  and  you  can  come  here  and  examine  your 
bills,  write  letters,  and  do  as  you  like,  whether  you  buy  a  dollar  of 
us  or  not.  It  will  be  an  advantage  to  us,  as  well  as  a  convenience 
to  you.' 

"  They  were  pleased  with  the  offer,  accepted  it  at  once,  and  left 
in  search  of  such  things  as  they  wanted.  For  the  six  years  during 
which  I  remained  in  the  dry-goods  business  for  myself,  they  were 
among  my  most  attached  customers.  They  were  all  respectable 
young  men,  not  afraid  of  work,  nor  ashamed  of  small  beginnings. 
One  has  now  been  president  of  a  New  England  Bank  for  more  than 
twenty  years ;  his  brother,  another  of  the  three,  years  after  moved 
to  one  of  the  large  towns  of  Ohio,  went  into  business  there,  and 
grew  to  be  the  man  of  the  place,  associated  with  the  railroads  and 
public  improvements  of  the  State;  the  third,  who  was  from  a 
manufacturing  town  in  Connecticut,  has  long  been  connected  with 
the  large  mills  of  the  place,  and  a  man  unusually  respected.  Three 
fourths  of  our  own  most  honored  and  successful  citizens  have  risen 
in  much  the  same  way." 

In  March,  1833,  the  new  and  lofty  warehouse  which  Mr. 
Phelps  had  recently  erected  at  the  corner  of  Fulton  and 
Cliff  Streets,  and  filled  in  a  short  time  with  tin  and  cotton, 


26  MERCHANT  AND  CITIZEN. 

proved  to  have  inadequate  foundations.  Without  a  mo- 
ment's warning  the  whole  structure  fell,  crushing  to  death 
several  persons,  among  them  two  book-keepers  and  a  con- 
fidential salesman.  At  first  it  was  feared  that  Mr.  Phelps's 
only  son  was  also  one  of  the  victims ;  but  after  an  ineffec- 
tual search  by  the  almost  distracted  father,  who  had  him- 
self been  unexpectedly  called  away  at  the  time  of  the 
accident,  the  boy  appeared,  having  left  to  do  an  errand 
just  before  the  building  gave  way.  He  also  had  supposed 
his  father  was  under  the  ruins,  and  they  met  while  looking 
for  each  other. 

Mr.  Phelps  was  greatly  prostrated  by  this  sudden  de- 
struction of  his  property  and  interruption  of  business.  He 
turned  to  his  son-in-law,  and  found  him  prompt  and  effi- 
cient in  aiding  to  rearrange  the  affairs  of  the  firm.  Soon 
after,  he  urged  Mr.  Dodge  to  give  up  the  dry-goods  busi- 
ness and  join  him  in  the  metal  trade.  A  settlement  was 
agreed  upon  for  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  of  Huntington 
&  Dodge,  and  the  entire  stock  of  goods  was  soon  disposed 
of  by  Mr.  Dodge  in  the  following  characteristic  manner. 
Among  their  customers  was  "  a  rough  old  man  from  Vir- 
ginia, who,  though  wealthy,  still  dressed  as  he  did  when 
a  travelling  pedler.  He  was  a  large  buyer,  and  his  credit 
was  beyond  doubt.  He  had  a  number  of  wagons  travelling 
all  over  the  West,  and  made  Wheeling  his  headquarters." 
Mr.  Dodge  had  secured  the  confidence  of  this  trader, 
and  sold  him  large  quantities  of  goods.  Not  long  after 
the  decision  had  been  reached  to  close  out  the  business, 
this  old  man  came  into  the  store,  but  not  finding  Mr. 
Dodge,  with  whom  alone  he  was  willing  to  deal,  went 
away.  As  he  again  entered  the  door,  some  hours  later, 
Mr.  Dodge  astonished  his  partner  by  saying,  in  an  under- 
tone, that  he  intended  to  sell  everything  in  the  place  to 
the  old  Virginian. 

The  proposition  was  soon  made  in  his  own  straight- 
forward and  genial  way.  With  some  hesitation  the 


MERCHANT   AND   CITIZEN.  2? 

experienced  trader  consented  to  look  over  the  goods; 
after  two  days  of  examination  and  bargaining,  however,  he 
purchased  the  entire  contents  of  the  store,  and  at  prices 
satisfactory  to  both  parties. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  wont  to  say  that  "  a  good  salesman 
must  be,  in  the  right  sense,  '  all  things  to  all  men,'  and 
that  open,  frank,  upright  dealing  is  the  way  to  secure 
confidence  and  customers." 

Thus  closed  nearly  fifteen  years  of  connection  with  the 
dry-goods  trade. 

The  partnership  now  formed  took  the  firm-name  of 
Phelps,  Dodge,  &  Co.  It  succeeded  to  the  old  house  of 
Phelps  &  Peck,  importers  and  dealers  in  metals,  whose 
place  of  business  was  at  one  time  at  181  Front  Street. 

The  new  firm  consisted  at  first  of  Anson  G.  Phelps, 
William  E.  Dodge,  and  Daniel  James,  who  married  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Phelps,  and  for  forty-eight  years 
conducted  the  business  in  Liverpool,  with  local  partners, 
under  the  title  of  Phelps,  James,  &  Co.  Subsequently 
Anson  G.  Phelps,  Jr.,  an  only  son,  James  Stokes,  who 
married  another  daughter,  and  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  and 
D.  Willis  James,  both  grandsons,  became  partners,  as  also, 
later  on,  other  sons  of  the  older  members.  At  the  date  of 
Mr.  Dodge's  death  the  house  had  completed  just  a  half 
century  of  vigorous  life.  The  chief  offices  have  always 
been  in  Cliff  Street. 

Long  before  1834  Mr.  Phelps  had  been  a  dealer  in  cot- 
ton ;  shipping,  from  New  York  and  from  Southern  ports, 
invoices  to  be  sold  in  England,  and  the  proceeds  to  be 
used  for  purchases  of  tin,  sheet-iron,  and  other  metals. 
The  new  firm  continued  for  some  years  this  customary  and 
often  profitable  form  of  exchange ;  but  it  was  attended  with 
risk  and  anxiety,  from  the  constant  fluctuations  of  the  mar- 
ket, and  it  involved  also  large  transactions  in  distant  parts 
of  the  country,  with  incessant  watchfulness,  and  from  time 
to  time  personal  visits  to  the  South.  In  those  days,  when 


28  MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN. 

all  travelling  was  by  sailing-vessels,  river-steamers,  stages, 
or  on  horseback,  such  journeys  were  long  and  wearisome. 
During  the  fall  of  1839  Mr.  Dodge  found  it  necessary 
to  undertake  an  extended  tour  through  the  Southern 
States,  going  by  way  of  Charleston,  Augusta,  Mobile,  and 
other  places,  and  spending  much  time  at  New  Orleans, 
where  the  agents  of  the  firm  had  met  with  financial 
misfortunes. 

A  few  extracts  from  letters  written  to  his  wife  during 
this  journey  will  give  an  insight  into  his  varied  experiences, 
and  at  the  same  time  unfold  some  traits  of  character. 

"  NEW  ORLEANS,  Jan.  26,  1840. 

"  I  had  some  business  at  Bayou  Sara,  a  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  up  the  Mississippi.  I  left  here  Friday  afternoon,  and  reached 
my  destination  next  morning  before  breakfast.  Coming  back,  I 
took  passage  in  a  boat  that  stopped  at  almost  every  turn  for  cotton 
and  passengers,  remaining  in  some  instances  several  hours  at  a 
place.  It  was  my  first  debut  on  the  great  river,  and  I  found  it 
very  interesting.  Here  you  see  the  Southern  planter  in  all  his 
glory.  The  banks  are  lined  with  sugar-plantations,  and  some  of 
them  present  a  fine  appearance. 

"  The  large  sugar-houses,  with  their  tall  chimneys  and  the  quarters 
of  the  slaves,  which  are  comfortable  wooden  cottages,  all  placed  in 
regular  order,  each  with  its  little  garden,  and  sometimes  thirty  or 
forty  houses  together,  painted  white,  with  red  roofs,  make  each 
plantation,  as  you  approach  it,  look  like  a  small  village.  The  resi- 
dences of  the  planters  are  often  large  buildings,  with  piazzas  and 
pillars,  all  surrounded  with  noble  live-oaks  and  other  evergreens, 
affording  a  beautiful  shade ;  but  the  curse  of  slavery  is  stamped 
upon  everything.  The  children  are  brought  up  to  call  a  slave  for 
the  least  thing  they  want,  without  any  idea  of  helping  themselves. 
A  young  lady  cannot  go  on  board  a  steamboat  without  her  black 
or  mulatto  girl.  The  young  men  must  have  their  servants  to  stand 
behind  them  at  dinner.  No  one  on  board  appeared  to  have  any 
idea  of  God,  except  at  almost  every  word  to  profane  his  holy 
name.  Give  me  the  small  New  England  farmer,  with  his  sons  and 


MERCHANT   AND   CITIZEN.  29 

daughters  brought  up  to  work  six  days  in  the  week,  and  to  attend 
church  well  dressed  on  Sundays  ! " 

"  NEW  ORLEANS,  Feb.  23, 1840. 

"  Every  day  seems  to  bring  something  new  to  detain  me  here  or 
on  my  way  home  ;  but  I  desire  to  leave  the  matter  with  God,  and 
am  determined  to  try  to  do  up  my  business  so  completely  that  I 
may  never  have  occasion  to  return  to  finish  it.  Orange-trees  are 
hanging  full,  and  the  peach-trees  all  over  the  city  are  in  bloom, 
and  the  green  grass  looks  like  May.  If  the  weather  goes  on  in- 
creasing in  heat  I  do  not  wonder  they  have  the  yellow  fever.  The 
city  is  so  low  the  water  cannot  run  off,  and  even  now  it  stands  all 
around  the  outskirts  in  a  deep  green,  stagnant  state.  Yet  to 
natives  and  those  acclimated  it  is  one  of  the  most  healthy  places  in 
the  United  States,  and  promises  to  become  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  elegant  (and  I  fear  most  wicked)  of  our  cities." 

"NEW  ORLEANS,  March  n,  1840. 

"  My  time  to-day  has  been  every  moment  taken  up  in  getting 
off  cotton  and  looking  over  accounts.  This  evening  I  have  had  to 

take  a  decided  stand  with ,  and  talk  very  plainly  to  him.     I 

can  assure  you,  such  things  are  not  at  all  pleasant.  It  always  affects 
me,  for  you  know  it  is  my  way  generally  to  get  along  without  any 
difficulty ;  but  '  there  is  a  point  at  which  forbearance  ceases  to  be 
a  virtue,'  and  at  that  point  I  had  arrived.  It  was  necessary  to 
speak,  however  trying.  I  was  enabled,  however,  to  be  perfectly 
cool  and  collected.  It  is  hard,  after  waiting  here  three  months, 
that  I  should  only  yesterday  have  been  able  to  get  the  accounts 
which  are  to  form  the  basis  of  our  settlement.  They  fill  fifteen 
large  sheets,  all  to  be  examined,  and  in  many  cases  item  after  item 
to  be  disputed.  This  will  keep  me  here  at  least  ten  days  further. 
And  now  comes  a  letter  from  Vicksburg,  saying  that  a  debt  of  some 
$6,000,  which  was  to  have  been  paid  March  ist,  has  again  been 
put  off  until  April  ist ;  and  it  is  in  such  a  shape  that  I  cannot  leave 
the  country  until  it  is  settled." 

"  NEW  ORLEANS,  March  22,  1840. 

"  After  a  week  of  great  anxiety  and  much  talking,  I  was  able, 

late  last  evening,  to  get to  a  point  where  he  acceded  to  a  very 

liberal  offer  on  my  part.     The  loss  will  be  great,  but  I  am  per- 


3O  MERCHANT  AND  CITIZEN. 

suaded  we  never  could  settle  with  less.  I  shall  have  to  go  to  Vicks- 
burg,  then  return  here,  and  on  my  way  home  stop  a  day  or  two 
at  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  and  Pittsburg,  and  go  into  Ohio  as  far 

as  Zanesville." 

*'  STEAMBOAT  '  GRAY  EAGLE/  April  i,  1840. 

"  I  have  exchanged  the  noisy  cabin  for  my  stateroom  to  write 
to  you ;  but  the  boat  trembles  so,  I  can  hardly  guide  my  pencil. 

"  We  left  New  Orleans  at  noon  yesterday,  and  now,  at  2  o'clock 
to-day,  we  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  this  majestic 
stream.  The  steamboat  is  one  of  the  finest  on  the  river,  and 
belongs  to  old  customers  of  ours  at  Louisville.  For  some  hun- 
dred miles  there  is  a  levee  in  front  of  all  the  plantations,  and 
the  river  is  now  in  many  cases  two  feet  higher  than  the  level  of  the 
land,  and  only  kept  from  overflowing  it  by  this  embankment. 
Yesterday  I  saw  a  spot  where  it  had  broken  through,  and  was 
running  like  a  stream,  entirely  covering  a  beautiful  plantation,  and 
making  a  lake  of  a  hundred  acres.  Some  two  hundred  slaves,  men 
and  women,  were  hard  at  work  to  stop  it ;  but  they  will  make  poor 
headway  against  such  a  rush  of  water,  and  the  river  continually 
rising.  Give  me  the  hills  of  Pennsylvania  rather  than  the  bottom- 
lands of  the  Mississippi !  We  are  constantly  passing  steamboats 
and  flats,  or  arks,  on  their  way  to  New  Orleans,  loaded  with  the 
produce  of  the  West.  There  are  six  hundred  steamboats  on  the 
river,  and  generally  they  are  more  comfortable  and  elegant  than 
any  we  have  at  the  North,  with  fine  large  staterooms  and  airy 

cabins." 

"  VICKSBURG  ,  April  5,  1840. 

"  How  strange  the  series  of  Providences  that  have  caused  this 
long  and  painful  separation,  and  how  little  do  we  know  or  think, 
when  commencing  an  undertaking  apparently  full  of  promise  and 
pleasure,  how  soon  it  may  bring  disappointment,  perplexity,  loss, 
and  vexation,  with  a  long  train  of  trials  which  it  would  seem 
impossible  could  ever  have  resulted  from  such  a  beginning  ! 

"  Asking  myself  last  evening  why  I  am  here,  away  from  wife, 
children,  friends,  home,  and  all  I  hold  dear  on  earth,  I  find  the 
answer  carried  me  back  to  1836,  when,  not  satisfied  with  busi- 
ness at  home  already  so  extended  as  to  occupy  all  our  precious 
time  and  fill  the  mind  so  full  of  worldly  anxiety  as  to  leave  scarcely 


MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN.  3! 

any  room  for  thoughts  of  God  or  eternity,  we  were  stretching 
after  more,  and   in  the   folly  and  intoxication  of  prosperity  we 

formed  the  house  of &  Co.  of  New  Orleans.     But  God,  who 

knew  best  how  to  humble  our  pride,  has  made  this  connection 
one  of  constant  anxiety,  and  finally  of  great  loss. 

"  I  am  at  the  Vicksburg  House,  and  so  fortunate  this  time  as 
to  have  a  small  room  to  myself,  although  it  was  very  dirty  when  I 
came  in.  By  a  little  management  with  the  servant,  a  freeman 
from  Virginia,  I  had  my  bed  taken  down  and  cleaned,  the  out- 
side dirt  of  the  room  removed,  the  washing  utensils  made  present- 
able, and  I  soon  felt  myself  comfortable  for  the  ten  days  I  must 
spend  here.  I  have  access  to  the  library  of  a  young  lawyer,  and 
with  reading,  writing,  walking,  and  thinking  of  you,  hope  to  keep 
out  of  mischief  at  least ;  I  have  been  quite  a  reader  since  leaving 
home,  having  gone  through  some  thirty  volumes,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  book  of  Nature  and  mankind.  One  cannot  travel  as  long 
as  I  have  on  boats  and  in  public  houses,  and  not  see  much  to 
remember." 

"  VICKSBURG,  April  12,  1840. 

"  To-morrow  I  go  thirty  miles  into  the  country,  and  on  the  result 
of  my  visit  will  depend  the  time  when  I  may  expect  to  leave  this 
place.  It  has  rained  almost  every  day  since  I  came.  Think  of 
Hartford  without  sidewalks,  and  you  can  judge  of  the  difficulty 
of  getting  about.  I  look  in  vain  among  the  Sunday-schools  for 
the  poor  black  children ;  nor  do  I  think  they  are  ever  brought 
under  its  influence.  They  may  well  say,  '  No  man  cares  for  my 
soul.'  The  Methodists  have  preaching  every  Sunday  afternoon 
for  the  blacks,  who  are  fond  of  going  to  church,  and  many  are 
professors ;  but  the  Presbyterians,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  do  nothing 
for  them.  The  field-hands  —  and  they  are  both  men  and  women 
—  are  generally  in  this  State  a  most  degraded  and  wretched  set  of 
beings,  little  removed  from  brutes,  and  usually  treated  as  such. 
Yet  they  are  all  immortal  beings,  for  whom  Christ  died,  and  they 
are  living  in  what  is  called  a  Christian  land  ;  but  thousands  of  them 
never  heard  of  him,  except  in  the  profanity  of  their  masters  and 
overseers,  —  a  practice  they  soon  learn  to  follow.  Slavery  is  an 
awful  thing,  and  God  will  yet  punish  this  nation,  and  especially  the 
South,  for  this  sin  and  the  evils  resulting  from  it.  Many  of  the 


32  MERCHANT   AND   CITIZEN. 

charges  the  Abolitionists  bring  are  true,  but  they  go  the  wrong  way 
to  remove  slavery.  The  almost  total  destruction  of  the  family 
relation  is  one  of  its  worst  features.  The  children  born  on  a 
plantation  know  only  their  mothers,  and  many  planters  care  little 
how  their  negroes  increase,  provided  they  do  so  rapidly,  as  in  this 
consists  their  property.  There  are  exceptions,  but  this  is  the 
general  fact. 

"  I  saw  last  week  a  fine  little  fellow  about  eight  years  old  sold  at 
auction.  As  usual,  they  were  a  long  time  at  it,  and  many  asked 
him  idle  questions.  He  paid  little  attention  to  them,  but  kept  his 
eye  on  the  bidders.  At  last  he  was  struck  off;  and  when  he  saw 
who  had  bought  him,  he  burst  out  crying,  and  being  asked  what 

was  the  matter,  he  replied  :  '  I  want  to  live  with  Mr. ,  because 

then  I  can  see  my  mother.' " 

"  VICKSBURG,  April  16,  1840. 

"Never  was  a  letter  more  welcome  than  yours  of  the  3151 
ultimo.  I  received  it  yesterday  on  my  return  from  the  country, 
and  just  as  I  had  met  one  of  the  most  unexpected  disappointments 
in  business  transactions  I  had  ever  experienced.  I  had  anticipated 
so  many  ways  in  which  I  might  be  disappointed  that  I  determined 
to  make  no  calculation  on  it  until  I  had  the  money  in  my  hand. 
After  much  difficulty  I  did  get  from  the  United  States  Deputy- 
Marshal  the  money  to  bring  to  the  Principal  Marshal  to  make  with 
him  a  final  settlement.  He  said  he  must  once  more  examine  his 
books,  to  be  sure  that  our  claim  was  in  fact  the  oldest ;  when  to  my 
utter  astonishment  it  was  found  that  by  a  blunder  of  an  attorney  who 
had  charge  of  the  case  some  time  ago  we  had  lost  our  lien  on  the 
property,  and  the  money  must  go  to  pay  some  New  York  creditors 
who  came  after  us  and  were  not  on  the  ground  at  the  sale,  presum- 
ing our  claim  would  take  all  there  was.  Just  at  this  moment  your 
letter  was  handed  to  me,  and  it  was  like  balm  to  my  troubled  spirit. 
The  man  whose  property  was  sold  is  among  the  few  honest  men  in 

this  country ;  and  as  this  error  occurred  in  an  attempt  of 

&  Co.  to  oblige  him  by  putting  off  the  sale,  he  says  that  although 
he  is  ruined,  I  shall  have  the  money  if  I  will  wait  until  he  can 
raise  it  among  his  friends,  as  it  is  the  most  sacred  debt  he  owes. 
My  only  chance  is  to  remain ;  the  claim  amounts  to  $6,000.  Yet 
there  are  special  reasons  why  I  should  be  at  home.  Our  spring 


MERCHANT   AND   CITIZEN.  33 

business  is  now  pressing,  the  country  is  in  such  a  state,  and  I  have 
had  for  a  long  time  most  to  do  with  our  customers,  and  know 
many  whom  we  have  trusted  heretofore  that  we  should  not  now 
trust.  I  am  made  truly  happy  in  the  midst  of  my  anxiety  by  the 

good  news  in  your  letter.     If  M is  truly  converted,  he  will 

make  a  most  useful  man,  as  he  is  so  well  informed  in  religious 
matters,  and  has  such  an  excellent  education." 

"  VICKSBURG,  April  19,  1840. 

"  I  have  been  here  sixteen  days,  and  it  has  rained  every  day  but 
two.  The  streams  are  high ;  the  mighty  Mississippi,  which  is  two 
hundred  feet  deep  opposite  this  city,  is  now  running  level  with  its 
banks,  and  fears  are  entertained  of  a  general  inundation  such  as 
they  had  in  1828  and  1832.  This,  added  to  the  present  distress, 
would  about  complete  the  ruin  of  this  country.  If  others  were  not 
interested  with  me,  I  would  leave  the  business  in  the  hands  of  the 
attorney,  and  be  on  my  way  home ;  but  this  would  amount  to  giving 
up  the  debt,  for  as  things  now  are,  ordinary  means  will  not  answer. 
Law  cannot  be  enforced.  The  people  have  become  desperate,  and 
will  not  suffer  their  property  to  be  sacrificed,  as  it  must  be  at  pub- 
lic sale.  All  are  so  much  involved,  there  are  none  able  to  purchase. 
Only  those  who  are  here  can  see  and  appreciate  the  trials  of  the 
people  and  make  allowances  for  them.  God  is  dealing  with  them, 
though  they  neither  see  nor  acknowledge  his  hand,  and  I  doubt 
not  he  will  have  to  continue  to  afflict  them  until  they  reform  or  are 
ruined.  I  am  confident  the  result  will  be  good  to  the  State,  al- 
though many  individuals  will  lose  everything.  The  fact  is,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  whole  United  States  have  been  acting  under  a  delusion. 
The  unnatural  prosperity  resulting  from  the  credit  system  has  been 
taken  for  real,  and  it  has  been  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  now 
its  overthrow  must  be  the  ruin  of  thousands.  The  grand  difficulty 
with  me  has  been  (I  do  not  speak  for  others)  that  I  have  had  my 
mind  so  constantly  occupied  with  business  and  its  anxieties,  I  have 
not  had  time  for  sober,  rational  thought.  I  desire  in  future  to  re- 
member that  I  am  an  immortal  being  ;  that  I  have  a  mind  capable 
of  thought,  and  it  should  be  stored  with  solid  food  ;  that  those  pur- 
suits and  employments  which  will  best  prepare  me  for  the  dis- 
charge of  duties  here,  and  the  enjoyment  of  heaven,  should  not  be 
neglected,  and  that  I  have  something  else  to  do  besides  simply 

3 


34  MERCHANT  AND  CITIZEN. 

accumulating  property.  My  duties  to  God,  my  family,  the  church, 
and  the  world,  must  not  be  disregarded,  let  what  may  suffer ;  and 
while  I  have  no  idea  of  slighting  business,  I  will  not  hereafter  un- 
dertake more  than  I  can  attend  to  without  neglecting  other  and 
more  important  things,  —  and  of  this,  by  the  assistance  of  God,  I 
intend  to  be  my  own  judge.  The  idea  of  living  so  that  my  children 
will  be  led  to  conclude  that  the  great  object  of  life  is  to  make 
money,  now  appears  to  me  in  a  new  light  I  desire  to  make  their 
religious  education  a  prominent  object  in  time  to  come.  The 
truth  is,  I  have  spent  hours  in  thinking  over  these  and  other  duties, 
and  I  know  the  decision  I  have  reached  is  the  result  of  careful  and 
prayerful  investigation.  I  have  read  and  thought  more  calmly 
since  I  left  home  than  for  the  last  six  years,  and  I  pray  God  it  may 
have  its  effect  on  my  life." 

"  VlCKSBURG,  April  22,  1840. 

"  I  think  the  person  who  owes  us  has  about  obtained  the  money ; 
but  when  I  have  it  in  my  pocket,  and  get  on  board  the  boat,  and 
she  is  under  way,  I  shall  really  think  it  is  in  my  possession.  I  am 
anxious  to  hear  from  home,  and  anticipate  bad  accounts  from  the 
election.  The  new  law  had  not  time  to  go  into  effect,  and  the 
Whigs  hurrying  it  will  make  the  locofocoes  so  angry  they  will  stir 
up  a  riot,  and  I  fear  you  will  have  sad  times.  Old  Connecticut  has 
done  her  duty  at  last,  and  if  Providence  should  grant  us  Harrison 
as  President,  I  think  we  shall  get  on  better.  If  Van  Buren  can  get 
up  a  war,  he  will.  '  War  !  war ! '  is  the  party  watchword  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  and  the  best  reason  a  leading  man  could  give 
was,  '  It  would  kill  off  a  great  many  loafers  ! '  The  State  Court  is 
now  sitting  here.  It  is  curious  to  see  how  they  do  things,  and 
notice  the  jurors,  lawyers,  and  judges.  The  floor  is  covered  with 
sawdust  several  inches  deep,  to  prevent  its  being  flooded  with 
tobacco-juice.  When  not  smoking,  the  people  chew  beyond  any- 
thing I  ever  saw.  The  lawyers  sit  with  their  legs  on  the  tables, 
and  the  judge  leans  back  and  puts  his  on  the  desk  ;  and  then  they 
examine  witnesses  and  cross-fire  at  each  other,  seldom  getting  up 
until  they  are  ready  to  sum  up  the  case.  Still,  they  have  some 
very  able  lawyers,  and  now  almost  every  man  in  the  State  is  at  law ; 
and  such  men  as  you  see  in  the  Court-house  yard,  lying  on  the 
grass,  or  sitting  in  every  style,  anxiety  and  distress  on  many  faces  ! 
Such  general  ruin  one  does  not  often  see." 


MERCHANT  AND  CITIZEN.  35 

"  STEAMER  '  SWALLOW,'  April  26,  1840. 

"  Here  it  is  almost  May,  and  I  am  now  going  fifteen  miles  an 
hour  away  from  home,  bound  again  for  New  Orleans.  The  weather 
is  equal  to  our  August.  I  feel  the  need  of  the  cold,  bracing  air  of 
our  winter." 

"  STEAMER  '  EDWARD  SHIPPEN,'  May  i,  1840. 

"  I  made  but  a  short  stay  in  New  Orleans,  and  am  now  seven 
hundred  miles  on  my  way  up  the  great  river.  The  current  against 
us  is  very  strong,  but  we  make  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
every  twenty-four  hours.  We  stop  occasionally  to  '  wood,'  and  it 
is  a  curious  sight.  We  have  on  board  two  hundred  men  as  deck 
passengers,  who  pay  their  way  in  part  by  helping  to  take  in  wood. 
In  a  half  hour  they  will  carry  on  their  backs  thirty  cords  from 
the  shore  to  the  boat.  They  run  down  the  river  on  rafts  or 
arks,  and  before  steam  navigation  they  would  walk  home  some 
fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  miles.  The  sail  up  the  river 
is  very  interesting  now,  as  the  water  is  thirty  feet  higher  than 
usual.  We  constantly  see  where  large  masses  of  earth  have  been 
washed  away,  carrying  down  trees  and  soil.  I  have  already  read 
a  thousand  pages  since  coming  on  board;  among  other  books, 
three  volumes  of  Cooper's  '  Home  as  Found,' — an  instructive  tale. 
A  '  Mr.  Dodge,'  a  loquacious  character,  figures  largely  !  The  boat 
is  about  to  start,  after  wooding,  and  the  mosquitoes  are  so  thick,  I 
must  stop  writing." 

Mr.  Dodge  reached  Louisville  May  5th,  after  "a  fine 
passage,"  and  Pittsburg  on  the  I5th  ;  then  made  his 
way  home,  stopping  at  Williamsport  to  attend  to  some 
important  lumber  interests  of  the  firm. 

To  show  Mr.  Dodge's  considerate  and  liberal  spirit  in 
his  dealings  with  the  agents  who  had  caused  such  annoy- 
ance and  loss  at  New  Orleans,  it  may  be  well  to  quote  from 
a  lettter  written  afterwards  by  one  of  the  parties  there. 

"  For  the  equitable  spirit  which  actuated  you  in  all  our  dealings 
I  owe  many  acknowledgments ;  but  I  desire  particularly  to  express 
my  unfeigned  thanks  for  the  kindness  manifested  by  you  during 
the  vexatious  delays  attending  the  last  settlement  of  our  accounts, 


36  MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN. 

and  the  handsome  as  well  as  obliging  course  pursued  in  bringing 
all  our  late  partnership  transactions  to  a  final  close." 

One  of  Mr.  Dodge's  earliest  investments,  outside  of  his 
regular  business  at  the  time,  was  the  purchase  of  timber 
lands  and  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  Some  facts  narrated 
by  Mr.  E.  B.  Campbell,  who  was  for  nearly  forty  years 
associated  with  Mr.  Dodge  in  the  management  of  pine- 
lands  in  Pennsylvania,  will  be  found  of  interest. 

"  At  a  very  early  day,  and  long  before  there  was  a  saw-mill  of 
any  size  in  Michigan,  Mr.  Dodge  seemed  to  comprehend  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  lumber  interests  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  fact  through- 
out the  United  States.  He  began  to  purchase  timber  lands  while 
still  a  partner  of  Mr.  Huntington,  buying  (or  taking  partly  for  debt) 
a  thousand  acres  on  Pine  Creek.  The  same  tract  is  still  in  the 
possession  of  his  successors.  In  1835  his  attention  was  called  by 
an  advertisement  to  the  large  and  valuable  tracts  of  land  held  by 
Messrs.  Stowell  &  Dickinson  in  Tioga  County,  Pa.  The  owners 
were  somewhat  embarrassed,  and  after  correspondence  proposed 
to  sell  him  one  half  of  all  their  lands  and  mills.  He  came  to  Penn- 
sylvania in  June,  1836,  to  see  the  property,  arriving  Saturday  even- 
ing at  Williamsport,  then  a  town  having  a  population  of  only  one 
thousand.  Early  Sunday  morning  (as  was  his  wont),  he  inquired 
for  the  church  and  Sunday-school.  He  attended  service  in  the 
morning,  and  at  the  request  of  the  superintendent,  Mr.  Oliver 
Watson,  addressed  the  school  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  the  evening 
was  asked  to  speak  to  the  people  in  the  one  little  church  of  the 
place.  Monday  morning,  Mr.  Watson,  who  was  county  commis- 
sioner's clerk,  called  upon  him,  and  during  the  interview  received 
from  Mr.  Dodge  authority  to  buy  in  for  him  any  timber-lands  to 
be  sold  for  taxes.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Dodge  started  on  horse- 
back for  Manchester,  Tioga  County,  sixty-five  miles  distant." 

Some  notes  of  this  journey  were  found  in  Mr.  Dodge's 
own  handwriting. 

"  Left  Jersey  Shore,  Lycoming  County,  to  go  up  Pine  Creek. 
The  stream  much  swollen  by  recent  rains.  Spent  the  night  at 
Butternut  Island.  In  the  morning  took  a  canoe  and  went  over 


MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN.  37 

to  the  island,  —  about  fifty  acres  of  bottom-land  under  cultivation, 
with  house,  barn,  etc. ;  suitable  place  for  building  saw-mills  ;  could 
put  a  dam  across  one  of  the  channels,  and  make  a  pond  to  hold 
securely  some  thirty  thousand  logs.  Wednesday  morning  rode 
twenty-five  miles  through  the  woods  before  coming  to  the  settle- 
ment at  Babb's  Farm  on  Crooked  Fork,  and  next  day,  at  noon, 
reached  Manchester.  Examined  the  mills  and  premises,  and  on 
Friday  spent  ten  hours  visiting  different  tracts.  Measured  some 
of  the  trees  cut  down  :  one  —  and  it  was  no  more  than  an  average 
—  was  a  hundred  and  sixty-eight  from  butt  to  tip,  and  ninety  feet 
to  the  first  limb.  Found  some  logs  to-day  thirteen  to  fifteen  feet 
around.  Pine,  oak,  and  hemlock  abundant,  with  little  underbrush ; 
soil  rich,  timber  heavy.  Saw  a  '  slide '  by  which  logs  are  sent  down 
directly  into  the  creek  in  half  a  minute  from  the  top  of  the  hill ; 
they  are  then  floated  to  the  mill.  Rode  to-day  thirty  miles  on 
horseback  through  the  woods  ;  visited  the  saw-mills  again,  —  seven- 
ty-four logs  produced  nearly  eighty  thousand  feet  of  lumber.  Re- 
turned down  the  river  by  scow,  stopping  to  examine  different 
tracts;  counted  at  times  sixty  to  seventy  trees  an  acre.  I  am 
delighted  with  Pine  Creek,  and  have  been  astonished  to  find  such 
a  stream  running  through  so  great  a  length  of  uninhabited  coun- 
try. Average  width  two  hundred  feet,  and  about  four  feet  deep  ; 
generally  smooth  water.  We  glide  along  at  about  four  miles  an 
hour.  No  need  of  a  pole  to  fend  off,  in  fact  the  boat  would 
almost  go  of  itself.  Spent  the  night  at  Lloyds,  and  next  day  had  a 
delightful  run,  arriving  at  the  Susquehanna  River  at  seven  o'clock, 
p.  M.  ;  then  floated  down  the  main  stream  four  miles  farther  for 
the  night.  Next  day  enjoyed  a  pleasant  sail.  Fine  farms  on  both 
sides ;  reached  Williamsport  at  noon." 

Among  Mr.  Dodge's  old  papers  there  was  also  a  cha- 
racteristic calculation  of  the  cost  and  chances  of  this  ven- 
ture in  pine-lands.  Before  making  any  personal  inspection, 
he  had  sent  out  a  special  agent,  who  had  previously  re- 
ported upon  pine-lands  in  Maine ;  the  result  being  that 
the  Pennsylvania  lands  were  pronounced  to  be  the  most 
valuable.  Mr.  Dodge  now  endeavored  thoroughly  and 
relentlessly  to  estimate  the  possible  profits  of  his  proposed 


38  MERCHANT  AND  CITIZEN. 

investment.  Taking  the  actual  figures,  from  operations 
upon  a  given  number  of  acres,  according  to  the  statements 
of  trustworthy  parties,  he  applied  the  facts  to  the  whole 
number  involved  in  this  case,  say  twenty-five  thousand 
acres  ;  and  then  began  to  reduce  the  problem  in  the 
following  unique  method :  — 

"  For  fear  of  errors,  deduct  one  half;  to  be  very  careful,  deduct 
one  half  again ;  in  these  days  of  speculation  we  will  once  more 
deduct  one  half;  as  everything  appears  to  be  going  to  the  bottom, 
we  will  another  time  deduct  a  half;  on  account  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  United  States  Bank  we  will  go  another  half.  Half  of 
this  final  amount  will  be  the  share  of  Phelps,  Dodge,  &  Co.  Now 
deduct  the  original  cost,  and  the  remainder  will  be  profit." 

And  as  this,  after  such  wholesale  cutting  down,  was  still 
nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars  beyond  the  sum  to  be  paid 
in  buying  the  property,  the  risk  seemed  justifiable  ! 

On  the  representations  of  Mr.  Dodge  the  purchase  was 
made,  and  in  subsequent  years  large  additional  tracts  were 
secured  in  adjoining  counties  (Potter,  Elk,  Clearfield,  Ca- 
meron, Lycoming).  Mr.  Phelps  frequently  visited  Penn- 
sylvania, and  gave  personal  attention  to  the  business;  but 
from  the  first,  and  almost  to  the  time  of  his  death,  the  chief 
care  of  the  lumber  interests  of  the  firm  devolved  upon 
Mr.  Dodge.  The  expense  and  loss  in  rafting  such  masses 
of  lumber  led  eventually  to  the  abandonment  of  the  smaller 
saw-mills  up  the  stream.  A  large  mill,  known  as  the 
Phelps  Mill,  was  erected  near  Jersey  Shore  in  1849,  with 
its  own  "  boom  "  and  other  facilities,  and  the  logs  were 
"  driven  "  —  floated  —  down  to  this  point. 

Still  later,  in  1864,  at  Williamsport,  which  had  now  grown 
to  be  an  important  lumber  centre,  there  was  built  one  of 
the  largest  saw-mills  at  that  time  east  of  the  Alleghanies, 
which  was  given  the  name  of  the  Dodge  Mills.  Most  of 
these  operations  were  carried  on  under  the  local  direction 
of  Mr.  E.  B.  Campbell,  who  first  came  into  Mr.  Dodge's 


MERCHANT  AND  CITIZEN.  39 

employ  in  1845,  and  always  enjoyed  his  esteem  and 
friendship.  The  extensive  business  growing  out  of  these 
transactions  was  conducted  for  many  years  under  the 
firm-name  of  Henry  James  &  Co.  of  Baltimore,  to  which 
point  most  of  the  lumber  was  shipped,  Mr.  James  being 
the  resident  partner,  and  having  general  management  of 
all  the  affairs  of  the  Company. 

At  Tobyhanna,  Monroe  County,  Pa.,  Mr.  Dodge  also  had 
an  interest  in  pine-lands,  and  a  saw-mill.  He  was  subse- 
quently led  to  make  a  large  investment  in  mills  and  "  Gov- 
ernment Limits"  in  Canada;  the  chief  office  and  mills 
being  at  Waubaushene,  on  an  arm  of  the  Georgian  Bay. 
He  likewise  purchased  extensive  tracts  of  yellow  pine- 
lands  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  erected  a  capacious  saw- 
mill on  St.  Simon's  Island,  near  Brunswick.  The  mill  and 
outbuildings,  the  church,  school-house,  store,  and  houses 
for  the  workmen,  form  an  attractive  village,  often  noticed 
by  travellers  taking  the  inland  steamer  route  to  Florida. 

The  State  of  Georgia,  as  a  compliment  to  Mr.  Dodge 
for  the  interest  he  had  long  manifested  in  the  progress 
of  the  South,  and  especially  for  the  confidence  shown  in 
making  so  large  an  investment  in  that  State,  set  off,  in 
1870,  —  from  the  counties  of  Pulaski,  Telfair,  and  Montgom- 
ery,—  the  district  in  which  most  of  Mr.  Dodge's  lands  are 
found,  creating  a  separate  county,  to  be  known  as  Dodge 
County.  A  letter  communicating  this  fact,  and  enclosing 
a  copy  of  the  enactment,  says :  "  Appreciating  your  suc- 
cessful efforts,  as  chairman  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  New  York,  in  inducing  Congress  to  remove  the  burden 
of  taxation  from  the  great  staple  of  our  State  and  of  the 
South ;  mindful  also  of  the  interest  taken  by  yourself  and 
friends  in  the  commercial  prosperity  of  our  State,  — 
Georgia  has,  by  an  Act  of  her  Legislature,  given  the 
new  county  your  name." 

Mr.  Dodge  erected  at  his  own  expense  a  court-house 
at  Eastman,  the  county-seat,  and  presented  it  to  the  county 


40  MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN. 

authorities.  A  Macon  paper  describes  it  as  "  a  substantial 
building,  occupying  a  prominent  site,  and  justly  ranking 
as  one  of  the  finest  and  most  convenient  court-houses  in 
the  State.  Such  a  gift  was  probably  never  tendered  or 
received  before  in  the  history  of  any  county  of  Georgia." 
The  same  journal  gives  an  account  of  the  proceedings  on 
the  day  of  presentation :  — 

"The  court- room  was  crowded  with  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
county,  and  Mr.  Dodge  made  an  address  ;  in  which,  after  acknowl- 
edging in  graceful  terms  the  honor  done  him,  he  spoke  at  length 
of  the  resources  and  advantages  possessed  by  the  people  of  Georgia 
over  most  other  portions  of  the  United  States,  —  the  mild  climate, 
particularly  salubrious  in  the  pine-woods  district ;  the  fertile  soil, 
capable  of  high  cultivation  ;  the  variety  of  productions  and  indus- 
tries ;  the  proximity  to  the  seaboard,  and  other  favorable  features  : 
all  of  which  argued  that  the  day  was  not  distant  when  immigration 
would  set  in  from  the  North  and  from  Europe,  and  Georgia,  with 
her  sister  States,  would  become  prosperous  and  powerful  beyond 
any  present  conception." 

When  Mr.  Dodge  passed  through  Macon,  on  his  way 
home,  a  committee  of  citizens  waited  upon  him  with  an 
address  of  welcome ;  to  which  he  cordially  replied,  express- 
ing his  belief  that  "  the  next  decade  would  be  signalized 
by  extraordinary  progress,  and  that  the  growing  inter- 
course between  the  people  of  both  sections  would  estab- 
lish the  best  mutual  understanding,  and  that  capital  from 
abroad  would  be  increasingly  attracted  to  the  South,  and 
especially  to  Georgia." 

Other  investments  in  pine-lands  were  made  by  Mr. 
Dodge  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Texas.  He  once  re- 
marked, during  negotiations  for  some  of  these  lands,  that 
his  object  was  "  to  secure  what  would  eventually  be  for  the 
advantage  of  his  children  ;  "  and  in  most  of  his  transactions 
in  lumber  or  lands  he  had  associated  with  him  one  or 
more  of  his  sons. 

Probably  few  men,  even  among  those  exclusively  en- 


MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN.  4! 

gaged  in  the  lumber  trade,  were  more  widely  and  practi- 
cally familiar  with  the  varied  features  of  this  great  industry. 
Mr.  Dodge  took  an  intelligent  and  enthusiastic  interest  in 
every  detail,  from  the  first  selection  of  suitable  lands,  the 
felling  of  the  trees,  the  driving  of  the  logs,  the  sawing, 
piling,  and  distribution  of  the  lumber,  to  the  final  sale  in 
the  best  markets.  He  was  constantly  reading  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  carefully  watching  production  and  prices.  He 
knew,  too,  better  than  most  men  what  interminable  anxiety 
there  can  be  over  titles,  taxes,  trespasses,  fires,  floods,  and 
droughts. 

The  firm  of  Phelps,  Dodge,  &  Co.,  as  importers  of  cop- 
per, became  interested  in  the  manufacture  of  that  metal, 
and  later  also  in  the  copper-mines  of  Lake  Superior  and 
other  districts.  A  rolling-mill  was  early  established  at 
Derby,  Conn.,  some  seventy  miles  from  New  York,  on 
the  Naugatuck  River.  Within  a  short  time  a  village  was 
built  a  little  farther  up  the  stream,  and  named  Ansonia, 
after  Mr.  Anson  G.  Phelps.  It  has  now  a  population  of 
over  four  thousand.  The  works  of  the  Company  have 
grown  into  independent  corporations,  including  the  Anso- 
nia Brass  &  Copper  Co.  and  the  Ansonia  Clock  Co.,  —  the 
latter  having  recently  removed  to  South  Brooklyn. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  a  founder,  and  until  his  death  one  of  the 
most  active  directors,  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  &  Coal  Co., 
of  Scranton,  Pa.  In  the  resolutions  adopted  by  this  Board 
on  the  announcement  of  his  decease  it  is  stated  that  — 

"  Our  late  associate  was  identified  with  this  Company  from  its 
organization  in  1853.  With  his  accustomed  sagacity  in  business 
affairs,  he  realized  the  importance  of  developing  the  mineral  wealth 
of  the  country,  and  of  utilizing  it  in  manufactured  products  for  the 
extension  of  railroad  facilities  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Not  only  did  he  invest  his  large  capital  in  this  and  similar  enter- 
prises, but  he  also  devoted  his  time  and  matured  judgment  in  de- 
vising plans  for  promoting  their  best  interests.  Judicious  as  a 
counsellor,  he  was  nevertheless  considerate  of  the  opinions  of  others, 


42  MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN. 

and  ready  to  harmonize  differences  and  secure  concord.  His 
eminent  ability,  his  untiring  devotion  to  business,  and  his  unblem- 
ished integrity,  have  given  him  rank  with  the  most  honored  and 
successful  of  merchants." 

Mr.  Dodge  also  gave  much  time  and  labor  for  a  series 
of  years  to  the  iron-works  at  Oxford  Furnace,  N.  J.,  where 
at  one  time  car-wheels,  and  afterwards  nails,  were  manu- 
factured. He  had  likewise  an  interest  in  iron-mills  and 
steel-works  in  Illinois  and  in  Virginia. 

The  reputation  of  his  firm  and  his  personal  standing  as 
a  business  man  were  always  to  Mr.  Dodge  objects  of  keen 
solicitude  and  just  pride.  Both  from  Christian  principle 
and  the  convictions  common  to  all  honorable  merchants, 
he  held  to  the  necessity  of  inflexible  integrity  as  the  indis- 
pensable foundation  of  commercial  transactions.  In  times 
of  general  financial  depression,  or  of  specific  exigencies  in 
his  own  affairs,  Mr.  Dodge,  though  acutely  alive  to  the 
difficulties  and  perils  involved,  was  usually  calm,  brave, 
and  full  of  resources.  Behind  human  complications  and 
uncertainties  he  had  an  unwavering  confidence  in  the  abso- 
lute control  of  an  overruling  Providence.  His  business  in- 
terests were  widely  scattered  and  diversified,  and  it  was  to 
be  expected  that  critical  periods  would  have  to  be  passed 
through,  and  painful,  often  disastrous,  experiences  encoun- 
tered. Mr.  Dodge,  however,  was  permitted  to  see  his  firm 
pass  through  the  vicissitudes  of  nearly  half  a  century  of  un- 
usually extended  transactions,  and  through  all  the  historical 
panics  of  his  day,  without  a  stain  upon  its  credit. 

One  incident,  however,  should  be  noticed,  which  occa- 
sioned at  the  time  serious  anxiety  and  loss  to  Mr.  Dodge 
and  his  associates,  and  created  discussion  throughout  the 
country,  but  happily  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the  in- 
iquitous revenue  system  which  then  prevailed,  and  which 
had  wrought  injustice  and  injury  not  merely  in  the  affairs 
of  this  house,  but  to  merchants  at  every  port  of  entry  in 
the  United  States. 


MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN.  43 

Under  the  intricate  and  complicated  revenue  laws  relat- 
ing to  goods  on  which  ad-valorem  duties  were  imposed, 
there  were  many  contradictory  regulations,  which  made  it 
almost  impossible  to  avoid  technical  errors.  Foreign  in- 
voices were  to  express  actual  cost. only,  while  at  the  same 
time  they  must  be  sworn  to  before  the  consul  as  at  exact 
market  value  on  the  day  of  sailing ;  and  both  these  prices 
must  agree  on  arrival  with  the  views  of  the  appraisers  of 
the  port.  As  many  goods  were  contracted  for  months 
before  shipment,  and  market  values  were  constantly  chang- 
ing, the  regulations  were  preposterous  and  dangerous. 

A  misunderstanding  arose  between  the  Custom  Depart- 
ment and  Phelps,  Dodge,  &  Co.  on  the  claim  that  certain 
small  items  in  various  invoices  had  been  undervalued. 
This  would  have  been  easily  adjusted,  had  not  the  moiety 
laws  provided  that  an  error  in  any  invoice  forfeited  the 
whole  amount,  one  half  of  which  went  to  Custom  officers 
and  informers.  The  same  technical  errors  had  led  in  many 
previous  instances  to  overpayments  by  the  firm ;  but  these 
would  not  be  considered.  A  long  and  painful  controversy 
followed,  which  was  finally  settled  by  the  payment  of  a 
stipulated  sum. 

A  full  and  detailed  report  of  this  matter  was  prepared 
by  the  Hon.  David  A.  Wells,  late  Commissioner  of  Revenue, 
fully  exonerating  Mr.  Dodge  and  his  firm ;  and  as  this  was 
widely  circulated  at  the  time,  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into 
the  subject  more  at  length  now. 

When  the  facts  became  known,  and  the  nature  of  the 
system  that  could  make  such  exactions  possible  was  ex- 
posed, the  mercantile  community  at  large  took  up  the  sub- 
ject and  protested  against  the  continuance  of  laws  that  left 
importers  at  the  mercy  of  interested  officials  and  offered  a 
premium  to  clerks  to  misrepresent  the  dealings  of  their 
employers.  Public  sentiment  soon  forced  the  matter  upon 
the  attention  of  Congress.  The  National  Board  of  Trade 
and  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  New  York,  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  other  cities  adopted  resolu- 


44  MERCHANT  AND   CITIZEN. 

tions  condemning  the  revenue  laws  and  appointing  com- 
mittees to  visit  Washington  and  seek  redress.  Mr.  Dodge 
went  as  a  member  of  the  Special  Committee  from  the  New 
York  Chamber  of  Commerce.  During  the  hearing  before 
the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  he  was  requested  to 
present  the  facts  relative  to  the  proceedings  against  Phelps, 
Dodge,  &  Co.,  both  because  the  Government  agent,  who 
was  chief  informer  at  that  time,  had  now  repeated  before 
the  Congressional  Committee  his  accusations  against  the 
firm,  and  also  because  this  case  was  everywhere  recognized 
as  illustrating  conspicuously  the  oppression  and  terrorism 
practised  upon  merchants  under  cover  of  law.  A  public 
meeting  was  held  at  Steinway  Hall  to  hear  the  report  of 
this  Committee  on  its  return  to  New  York.  In  the  follow- 
ing May  (1874)  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  re- 
pealing the  obnoxious  features  of  these  laws.  The  debate 
brought  still  more  clearly  to  light  the  iniquities  of  such  a 
system  of  official  espionage  and  robbery.  The  bill  was 
passed  without  a  dissenting  voice ;  and  in  the  Senate,  where 
a  still  longer  deliberation  followed,  the  measure  received  an 
almost  equally  unanimous  vote.  It  was  some  consolation 
to  Mr.  Dodge  that,  in  the  wide  discussion  of  this  question, 
not  only  was  the  good  name  of  his  firm  vindicated,  but 
largely  through  the  injury  perpetrated  upon  himself  and 
associates  the  scandalous  provisions  of  the  moiety  system 
were  abolished.  The  narrative  of  this  episode  in  the  his- 
tory of  Mr.  Dodge  would  not  be  complete  without  recall- 
ing the  fact  that  soon  after  its  occurrence  Mr.  Dodge  was 
re-elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  New  York  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  although  he  had  already  served  in  that  office 
several  consecutive  terms.  In  expressing  his  grateful  ap- 
preciation of  this  renewed  evidence  of  confidence,  he  made 
some  reference  to  the  circumstances  which  had  led  his 
firm  to  agree  to  a  compromise ;  and  concluded  by  saying 
that  since  his  partners  and  himself  had  been  able  to  under- 
stand their  actual  position  in  this  matter,  they  had  not 
ceased  "  to  regret  ever  having  paid  a  dollar." 


CHAPTER   III. 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE.  —  MERCANTILE  LIBRARY.— 
PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 


Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  State  of  New 
-L  York  was  founded  in  1768,  and  has  always  enrolled 
among  its  members  the  representative  merchants  of  the 
great  metropolis.  Its  influence  in  questions  of  trade,  both 
local  and  national,  has  been  unquestioned  and  potent. 
Mr.  Dodge  became  a  member  of  this  body  in  March,  1855, 
and  at  once  took  an  active  part  in  its  proceedings.  In 
1863  he  was  elected  first  vice-president,  and  in  3867  be- 
came president,  retaining  that  office  for  eight  years.  He 
served  upon  many  important  committees,  and  was  par- 
ticularly prominent  in  promoting  the  loyal  and  vigorous 
measures  of  the  Chamber  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and 
during  its  continuance.  He  was  frequently  appointed  on 
delegations  to  Washington  to  urge  upon  the  Government 
courses  of  action  deemed  by  the  Chamber  advantageous 
to  the  State  or  country. 

At  the  close  of  1862  reports  came  to  America  of  the 
sufferings  of  operatives  in  the  manufacturing  districts  of 
England,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  stoppage  of  supplies 
of  cotton  from  the  Southern  States.  Mr.  Dodge  took  a 
lively  interest  in  the  cause,  and  initiated  the  movement 
which  resulted  in  the  calling  of  a  meeting  of  merchants  at 
the  rooms  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  formation 
of  an  International  Relief  Committee,  Mr.  Dodge  being 
made  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee.  A  number 
of  large  contributions  were  quickly  obtained,  some  of  them 


46  CHAMBER   OF  COMMERCE. 

at  his  personal  solicitation.  He  subscribed  five  thousand 
dollars  in  the  name  of  his  own  firm.  The  appeal  brought 
in  generous  responses.  Immediate  shipments  of  flour  were 
made;  and  in  a  short  time  a  new  ship,  of  1,800  tons  bur- 
den, placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Committee  free  of  charge 
by  Messrs.  N.  L.  &  G.  Griswold,  sailed  for  England  with  a 
full  cargo  of  grain  and  provisions.  The  noble  gift  received 
a  cordial  welcome.  Public  meetings  were  held  in  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester,  and  the  Lancashire  working-classes, 
who  had  so  uncomplainingly  endured  the  privations  result- 
ing from  the  great  struggle  in  America  for  human  freedom 
and  popular  government,  fully  appreciated  the  generous 
sympathy  extended  to  them.  These  contributions,  amount- 
ing to  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  were  not  prompted 
by  considerations  of  mere  policy,  or  even  patriotism ;  but 
they  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  the  laboring  popula- 
tion of  Great  Britain  in  favor  of  American  institutions,  and 
helped  in  both  countries  to  cement  the  ties  among  the 
friends  of  popular  liberty. 

Some  years  later  (in  1871)  Mr.  Dodge,  representing  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  addressed  the  New  York  Corn 
Exchange  in  behalf  of  a  somewhat  similar  effort  to  send 
relief  to  the  suffering  people  of  France  just  after  the  war 
with  Prussia. 

"  We  will  not  stop,"  he  says,  "  to  consider  the  folly  or  responsi- 
bility of  France  in  provoking  and  bringing  upon  herself  this  fearful 
result.  Our  duty  is  simple  and  clear.  We  have  food,  they  are 
starving;  and  at  such  a  time,  forgetting  her  position  in  our  late 
struggle  for  national  unity,  we  may  go  back  to  that  earlier  war  for 
our  national  independence,  and  remember  how  manfully  France 
stood  by  us,  and  gave  us  arms  and  men,  and  better  than  that,  her 
hearty  sympathy  and  encouragement.  Yes;  we  owe  her  a  debt 
of  gratitude,  which  I  trust,  in  her  hour  of  need,  we  shall  not  be 
slow  to  repay." 

Mr.  Dodge  presided  at  several  of  the  annual  or  occa- 
sional banquets  of  the  Chamber.  At  a  dinner  given  Sept. 


CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE.  47 

1 8,  1867,  in  honor  of  the  return  from  China  of  Mr.  A.  A. 
Low,  his  immediate  predecessor  as  presiding  officer,  Mr. 
Dodge  said :  — 

"  It  was  peculiarly  appropriate  that  our  honored  guest  should 
have  made  the  voyage  across  the  Pacific  on  the  first  of  the  line  of 
steamers  between  San  Francisco  and  Hong- Kong.  These  vessels 
have  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  our  commerce.  The 
mind  staggers  at  what  may  grow  out  of  such  near  connection  with 
the  millions  of  China  and  Japan.  A  nation  before  Rome  was 
founded,  China  had  attained  in  1813,  according  to  the  native 
census,  a  population  of  over  three  hundred  millions ;  yet  we  have 
considered  ours  a  great  country  with  its  thirty-five  millions.  And 
we  have  looked  upon  our  Erie  Canal  as  a  large  undertaking ;  but 
China  had  one  twice  its  length  before  Columbus  was  born  !  We 
have  well  been  proud  of  our  noble  Mississippi;  yet  China  can 
boast  of  her  Yangtse-Kiang,  nearly  as  long,  with  better  water,  with 
steamers  replacing  junks,  already  ascending  fifteen  hundred  miles, 
and  a  commerce  far  exceeding  that  of  our  own  great  river.  We 
possess  special  advantages  for  securing  the  largest  share  of  trade 
with  these  intelligent  and  industrious  nations.  May  we  not  hope 
also  that  their  more  intimate  intercourse  with  us  shall  be  the  means 
of  turning  them  from  the  worship  of  dumb  idols  to  serve  the 
living  and  true  God?" 

At  the  annual  dinner,  May  7,  1874,  Mr.  Dodge,  as 
president,  made  the  opening  remarks :  — 

"  We  are  met  on  the  evening  of  our  hundred  and  sixth 
anniversary.  It  is  a  pleasant  reflection  that  we  are  among  the 
oldest  of  commercial  and  trade  associations  in  our  country;  let 
it  be  our  ambition  to  hand  down  to  the  future  commerce  of  our 
city  and  State  our  trust,  with  its  value  and  importance  greatly 
increased  ! 

"  Since  last  we  met,  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  have 
been  called  upon  to  face  another  severe  financial  crisis  ;  and  though 
our  merchants,  with  very  few  exceptions,  have  passed  through  it 
triumphantly,  yet  I  fear  we  have  far  from  recovered  from  its  effects. 
It  has  been  for  many  very  difficult  to  account  for  so  sudden  and 
severe  a  reaction,  when  all  seemed  so  prosperous.  Our  foreign  trade 


48  CHAMBER   OF  COMMERCE. 

was  apparently  more  in  our  favor  than  for  many  years  previous ; 
our  grain,  cotton,  and  other  exports  were  in  good  demand  in  other 
countries,  and  our  crops  unusually  large.  But  it  appears  to  me 
more  difficult  to  realize  that  so  vast  an  interest  as  our  railroad 
system  has  become,  could  have  increased  since  the  commencement 
of  the  war  from  thirty-one  thousand  miles  to  seventy-five  thousand 
miles,  with  an  expenditure  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  without  bringing  about  a  crisis  in  our  financial 
system ;  and  while  all  are  now  ready  to  admit  that  the  demands 
of  the  people  in  all  sections  for  the  extension  of  railroad  facilities 
have  led  to  too  rapid  construction,  yet  it  should  be  always  kept  in 
mind  that  while  those  interested  in  their  construction  may  have 
been  great  losers,  yet  the  country  as  a  whole  has  been  largely 
benefited,  and  this  vast  expenditure  has  actually  added  to  the  real 
value  of  the  entire  country  many  times  the  cost  of  the  roads. 

"  I  think  it  is  very  easy  to  account  for  the  present  stagnation  of 
trade,  when  we  consider  the  fact  that  during  the  past  eighteen 
months  there  has  been  developed  a  systematic  opposition  to  rail- 
roads, which  was  commenced  by  the  farming  interest  of  the  West, 
has  spread  to  almost  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  has  become  an 
organized  political  power,  leading  the  legislatures  of  some  of  the 
States  to  enact  laws  which,  if  sustained  and  carried  out,  must 
destroy  confidence  in  railroad  investments.  The  very  agitation 
of  these  railroad  questions  in  the  State  and  national  legislatures 
has  alarmed  capitalists  at  home  and  abroad ;  and  as  they  see  this 
vast  interest  passing  from  the  control  of  the  stockholders  and  direc- 
tors into  the  hands  of  political  commissioners,  who  are  to  attempt 
to  regulate  prices  of  transportation  in  the  interest  of  the  producers, 
they  very  naturally  hasten  to  dispose  of  their  investments.  And  rail- 
road securities,  which  but  a  short  time  ago  were  sought  after  with 
confidence,  are  now  considered  very  uncertain,  and  have  been  for 
months  past  crowded  on  the  market,  until  they  have  declined  so 
fearfully  that  the  very  stock-list  is  constantly  increasing  the  distrust. 
But  for  this  war  on  the  railroads,  men  of  property  would  have  held 
these  securities  until  the  growth  of  the  country  would  have  given 
them  permanent  value.  We  now  see  this  great  interest  prostrate, 
and  the  various  branches  of  industry  which  it  has  fostered  paralyzed. 
The  iron  manufactures,  which  have  sprung  into  life  all  over  the 
country,  are  the  offspring  of  our  railroads  ;  the  locomotive  and  car 


CHAMBER   OF  COMMERCE.  49 

building,  the  axle,  the  spring,  and  the  wheel  works,  and  the  hun- 
dred other  manufactures  depending  on  the  prosperity  of  the  rail- 
roads, are  crippled,  and  many  of  them  ruined.  Thousands  and 
thousands  of  operatives  in  these  various  manufactures  are  idle,  and 
rolling-mills,  furnaces,  and  foundries  are  standing  still,  because  the 
States  and  the  nation  have  struck  a  deadly  blow  at  this  great 
interest. 

"  Can  we  wonder  that  business  is  dull,  even  in  the  midst  of  a 
plethoric  money-market  ? 

"  If  this  railroad  war  is  to  go  on,  and  the  States  attempt  to 
enforce  laws  which  destroy  the  vested  rights  of  those  who  have 
advanced  their  money  to  build  these  lines,  so  vital  to  the  country, 
then  these  roads  must  and  will  become  political  powers  in  all  sec- 
tions, and  those  who  now  oppress  them  will  in  their  turn  become 
the  sufferers.  Is  it  not  time  that  the  business  men  of  the  country 
should  look  carefully  to  see  what  will  be  the  end  of  this  interference 
by  the  States  with  the  great  channels  through  which  commerce  is 
now,  to  a  large  extent,  carried  on  ? 

"  The  Chamber  during  the  year  has  done  much  to  arouse  the 
attention  of  the  country  to  the  manner  in  which  the  revenue  of  the 
Government  is  collected,  and  to  the  embarrassments  thrown  in 
the  way  of  commerce  ;  and  there  is  good  reason  to  expect  that  the 
present  Congress  will  pass  such  laws  as  will  enable  the  honest  mer- 
chant to  import  his  goods  under  regulations  so  plain  that  he  may 
not  be  in  constant  fear  lest  he  shall  render  himself  liable  to  their 
confiscation. 

"  The  efforts  of  the  Chamber,  with  others,  to  secure  from  Congress 
a  currency  which  should  at  least  tend  towards  the  value  of  that  of 
the  countries  with  which  we  trade,  and  look  to  a  return  to  the  stan- 
dard of  the  world  at  no  distant  day,  have  been,  we  hope,  not  with- 
out some  good  results  during  the  past  few  weeks. 

"  The  untiring  efforts  of  members  of  the  Chamber  have  pre- 
vented the  passage  of  the  Canal  Funding  Bill,  which  would  have 
for  years  prevented  such  enlargement  as  the  business  of  the  West 
and  the  great  interests  of  our  city  demand. 

"  The  importance  of  this  matter  has  not  been  either  understood 
or  appreciated  by  our  citizens.  The  great  want  of  the  hour  is  en- 
larged outlets  for  the  commerce  of  our  chain  of  inland  seas ;  and 
if  we  would  secure  to  our  city  its  great  natural  advantages,  and 

4 


5O  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE. 

insure  to  ourselves  a  fair  share  of  the  business  of  the  growing  West, 
we  must  prepare  an  enlarged  water-way,  or  the  St.  Lawrence  wiy 
continue  from  year  to  year  to  divert  trade  which  would  naturally 
seek  our  city." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  connected  with  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant commercial  and  financial  institutions  of  New  York. 
His  reputation  for  ability,  integrity,  and  zeal  in  positions 
of  trust  led  to  his  being  often  invited  to  join  boards  or 
corporations. 

He  was  one  of  the  first  directors  of  the  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Co.,  and  shared  in  its  control  from  small  begin- 
nings to  its  present  vast  operations,  extending  over  this 
continent  and  reaching  out  to  foreign  lands.  In  1847  he 
became  a  trustee  of  the  Atlantic  Mutual  Insurance  Co. 
He  was  one  of  the  oldest  directors  of  the  New  York 
Bowery  Insurance  Co.  For  many  years  he  sat  on  the 
board  of  the  United  States  Trust  Co.  He  was  made  a 
director  in  1863  of  the  United  States  Telegraph  Co.,  and 
afterwards  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Co.  His 
name  stands  also  among  the  original  subscribers  for  the 
Atlantic  cable.  His  ordinary  business  connections,  his 
wide  acquaintance,  and  his  spirit  of  enterprise,  —  still 
more,  perhaps,  his  efforts  to  aid  friends  or  relatives,  —  led 
Mr.  Dodge  to  embark  in  some  financial  ventures  that 
demanded  much  attention,  and  frequently  brought  small 
profit.  His  cares  were  greatly  increased  by  the  death  of 
his  father-in-law  and  partner  in  1853.  During  the  ten  fol- 
lowing years  he  had  the  responsible  charge  of  Mr.  Phelps's 
large  estate,  and  most  of  the  time  was  sole  executor.  The 
scheme  of  the  will  enjoined  the  holding  and  development 
of  much  of  the  property  until  it  should  increase  in  value. 
A  bank  established  by  Mr.  Phelps  at  Dover,  N.  J.,  in  1833 
required  much  attention  from  Mr.  Dodge  both  before  and 
after  Mr.  Phelps's  death. 

Mr.  Dodge  always  felt  a  peculiar  interest  in  the  clerks 
of  New  York.  To  promote  their  welfare  he  long  served  as 


MERCANTILE   LIBRARY.  51 

an  officer  in  connection  with  the  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation, being  at  one  time  treasurer,  and  for  many  years 
a  trustee  of  Clinton  Hall,  the  building  occupied  by  the 
main  library  on  Astor  Place.  His  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  this  organization  can  be  seen  from  some  remarks 
made  at  a  dinner  of  the  Officers'  Union  of  this  Society, 
November,  1873,  when  he  said:  — 

"  This  library  was  a  necessity  at  the  time  it  was  established.  It 
has  grown  at  a  pace  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  city,  and  now  pre- 
sents proportions  which  its  founders  never  anticipated.  Those  of 
us  who  remember  when  it  first  took  possession  of  Clinton  Hall 
can  recall  also  the  limited  extent  of  the  business  part  of  the  city  at 
that  time.  The  hall  was  on  the  far  outskirts,  and  Canal  Street  was 
quite  up  town.  Those  who  were  then  boys  and  clerks  are  now 
among  the  old  merchants.  It  appears  to  me  there  never  was  a 
time  when  it  was  more  important  for  our  young  men  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  advantages  of  such  a  library.  They  are  to  be  our 
future  merchants ;  and  as  our  city  shall  continue  to  grow  during  the 
next  hundred  years,  how  much  will  depend  upon  the  character  and 
intelligence  of  her  men  of  business  I  Unless  there  shall  be  a 
change  in  the  present  ideas  of  conducting  business,  and  a  return 
to  the  high-minded  and  steady  habits  so  general  fifty  years  ago ; 
unless  industrious,  persevering  attention  to  regular  business,  with 
moderate  annual  gains,  shall  take  the  place  of  the  more  recent  no- 
tion of  making  haste  to  be  rich,  and  running  the  risks  of  enormous 
credits,  with  a  view  of  jumping  into  a  fortune  at  once,  our  city  can 
never  attain  the  position  and  reputation  indispensable  to  permanent 
prosperity.  Our  young  men  should  read  the  more  solid  works  in 
the  library,  and  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
our  institutions,  our  form  of  government,  the  laws  controlling  home 
and  foreign  commerce,  books  on  political  economy  and  kindred 
subjects.  They  must  prepare  themselves  to  sustain  and  perpetuate 
the  popular  system  of  government  in  this  country.  They  must 
be  ready  to  meet  the  peculiar  responsibilities  just  before  them,  or 
the  vast  emigration  coming  to  our  shores  from  all  lands,  bringing 
political  views  widely  different  from  our  own,  will  enable  designing 
men  to  gain  a  control  that  may  endanger  all  we  now  hold  so 
dear." 


52  MERCANTILE   LIBRARY. 

Mr.  Dodge  became  a  life-member  of  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society  in  1857,  and  he  was  interested  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Museum  of  Art  and  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History  in  the  Central  Park.  To  each  of  these  last  insti- 
tutions he  left  a  bequest  of  $5,000. 

As  a  prominent  merchant  and  citizen  Mr.  Dodge  was 
often  called  upon  to  preside  or  speak  at  public  gatherings. 
During  the  war,  at  an  entertainment  given  to  a  distin- 
guished Englishman,  Mr.  Dodge  referred  to  the  feelings 
of  depression  then  somewhat  prevalent,  and  to  the  asser- 
tions of  enemies  at  home  and  abroad  that  the  country  was 
"  ruined,"  and  said :  — 

"  I  am  sure  our  honored  friend,  as  he  passed  from  city  to  city  in 
our  land,  saw  no  evidence  of  such  ruin,  but  everywhere  witnessed 
rapid  growth  and  increasing  prosperity ;  and  I  beg  him  to  carry 
with  him  across  the  sea  the  fact  that  in  no  three  years  of  our  his- 
tory have  we  made  such  material  advancements  as  during  the  past 
three.  Our  home  and  foreign  trade  in  the  midst  of  civil  war  is  a 
wonder  to  ourselves,  the  imports  being  equal  to  the  largest  years 
when  cottton  formed  two  thirds  of  our  exports.  Our  internal 
traffic  has  been  beyond  all  precedent,  and  the  receipts  of  our 
railways  and  canals  have  more  than  doubled.  We  ask  our  distin- 
guished guest,  on  his  return  to  his  own  country,  to  tell  the  mer- 
chants of  Liverpool  and  other  English  cities  that  we  are  not 
'  ruined,'  but  that  American  merchants  are  ready  to  be,  if  it  is 
necessary  to  save  our  Union" 

Upon  a  somewhat  similar  occasion,  when  a  compli- 
mentary dinner  was  tendered  (November,  1879)  to  Mr. 
Thomas  Bayley  Potter,  M.P.,  Mr.  Dodge,  in  responding  to 
a  toast,  said  in  part :  — 

"  I  am  confident  the  visit  of  our  esteemed  friend  to  this  country 
will  promote  the  best  interests  of  both  nations,  and  I  am  happy 
that  he  has  had  the  opportunity  of  visiting  the  West  and  seeing  for 
himself  something  of  the  extent  and  capabilities  of  this  country. 
He  will  return  to  England,  I  am  sure,  with  the  conviction  that  our 
cheap  and  fertile  soil  will  enable  us  to  produce  at  so  low  a  rate  that 


AMERICAN   SHIPPING. 


53 


it  will  be  impossible  to  continue  much  longer  the  present  system  of 
agriculture  in  Great  Britain,  and  that  great  changes  must  ere  long 
take  place  in  that  land.  Let  me  say  also  that  I  sympathize  deeply 
with  the  mortification  of  Americans  that  our  laws  make  us  depend- 
ant on  other  countries  for  the  tonnage  by  which  our  vast  products 
are  sent  over  the  ocean ;  but  it  must  be  a  satisfaction  to  our  friends 
abroad  that  while  they  are  under  the  necessity  of  taking  our  sur- 
plus food  they  can  carry  it  away  in  their  own  vessels.  If  I  cannot 
agree  with  our  distinguished  guest  in  all  his  views  of  free  trade,  I 
am  at  least  a  strong  advocate  of  such  modifications  of  our  laws  as 
will  enable  us  to  compete  with  other  nations  in  building  ships  for 
our  own  trade  ;  and  I  believe  the  day  is  coming  when  we  shall  send 
out  better,  faster,  and  cheaper  steamers  than  any  ever  yet  con- 
structed. I  trust  the  two  countries  will  continue  to  vie  with  each 
other  in  everything  that  can  advance  their  mutual  good.  Nothing 
certainly  will  hasten  this  more  than  the  visits  of  such  men  as  we 
have  the  honor  of  entertaining  this  evening." 

Like  most  other  merchants,  Mr.  Dodge  was  so  absorbed 
in  his  own  business  that  he  found  little  time  —  and  less  in- 
clination —  for  the  party  strifes  and  low  associations  of 
local  politics.  Like  some  other  intelligent  and  influen- 
tial citizens  also,  he  became  convinced  of  the  imperative 
duty  of  not  leaving  municipal  affairs  in  the  hands  of  sche- 
ming and  unscrupulous  men,  who  serve  party  to  serve 
themselves. 

As  early  as  the  winter  of  1852-1853  we  find  him  ad- 
dressing a  public  meeting  in  the  following  strain :  — 

"  I  appear  before  you,  fellow-citizens,  not  so  much  to  make  a 
speech  as  to  make  a  confession.  For  years  I  have  been  rinding 
fault  and  talking  against  the  extravagant  expenditures  of  our  city 
government ;  at  the  same  time  I  was  so  disgusted  with  the  political 
management  of  our  municipal  elections  that  I  was  quite  satisfied 
with  simply  voting  the  regular  ticket  of  the  party,  without  any 
knowledge  of  the  men,  or  any  feeling  of  responsibility  in  regard  to 
them.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  am  also  describing  the  position  of 
many  others. 


54  MUNICIPAL  AFFAIRS. 

"  As  merchants,  we  have  been  especially  guilty  in  this  respect. 
We  have,  perhaps,  as  a  general  thing,  on  our  way  down  town, 
stopped  at  the  grocery  where  the  polls  were  held,  and  deposited  our 
vote ;  but  few  of  us  have  taken  any  part  in  choosing  right  candidates 
and  securing  their  election.  This  has  been  left  to  men  who  make 
politics  their  business,  and  who  as  a  rule  select  officers  pledged 
beforehand  to  carry  out  certain  party  measures  or  to  find  places  in 
the  city  departments  for  those  who  have  been  most  active  in  the 
canvass,  and  if  there  are  no  places,  to  secure  for  them  a  good  con- 
tract or  an  interest  in  some  sale  of  city  property.  We  need  not 
wonder  things  have  gone  on  so  ruinously  when  men  who  have  paid 
the  bills  have  felt  no  responsibility  to  look  after  those  who  have  ex- 
pended the  money.  We  pay  our  taxes  to  carry  on  the  legitimate 
objects  of  city  control  and  improvement,  not  to  reward  this  or  that 
man  for  political  management.  Every  one  in  this  house  has  a  direct 
interest  in  securing  an  honest,  economical  city  government.  We 
all  know  that  the  real  tax-payers  are  not  the  property-holders  only, 
but  those  also  who  occupy  property.  The  poor  man  who  sees  his 
rent  annually  growing  larger,  may  find  the  reason  for  it  in  this  in- 
crease of  taxes.  The  prosperity  of  our  city  is  not  to  be  promoted 
by  making  living  dear,  but  cheap.  A  few  years  more  of  such  pub- 
lic wastefulness,  and  we  shall  find  other  places  around  us  growing 
up  at  our  expense." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  no  longer  content  to  be  an  idle  spec- 
tator or  fault-finder ;  he  gave  time,  means,  and  influence  to 
aid  in  correcting  these  abuses.  He  was  active  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Citizens'  Association,  whose  distinct  object 
was  to  secure  an  economical  and  pure  city  administration. 
•  In  1871  he  was  made  president  of  an  organization  to 
oppose  the  onerous  income-tax.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year,  while  on  the  Mediterranean,  bound  for  Egypt  and 
Syria,  he  wrote  to  one  of  the  New  York  daily  papers 
(the  "  Times  "):- 

"While  travelling  for  the  last  few  months  in  Great  Britain  and 
on  the  Continent,  I  have  often  wished  my  fellow-citizens  at  home 
could  know  the  deep  interest  shown  by  intelligent  foreigners  in  the 
events  transpiring  in  our  own  country,  and  particularly  in  the  city 


REFORM   MOVEMENTS.  55 

of  New  York.  I  have  been  surprised  to  see  that  Tweed  and  his 
associates  are  almost  as  notorious  here  as  in  America.  Our  system 
of  government,  which  has  heretofore  attracted  the  attention,  and  in 
so  large  a  degree  won  the  admiration,  of  the  world,  is  now  on  trial 
under  new  circumstances.  If  these  men  escape  justice,  and  continue 
to  flaunt  their  ill-gotten  plunder  in  our  faces,  the  American  form  of 
popular  government  will  lose  much  of  its  power  in  other  lands." 

The  year  following  (1872),  at  a  mass-meeting  to  in- 
sist upon  the  nomination  of  suitable  municipal  officers, 
Mr.  Dodge  was  appointed  a  member  of  a  special  commit- 
tee to  act  in  conjunction  with  an  organization  known  as 
the  Commitee  of  Seventy,  formed  to  seek  out  and  punish 
corrupt  city  officials.  In  1876  he  was  one  of  the  exe- 
cutive committee  of  the  Republican  Reform  Club,  and 
later  in  that  year  he  was  among  the  signers  of  a  circular 
urging  the  election,  for  city  officers  and  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, of  men  of  unimpeachable  character  and  ability,  irre- 
spective of  political  parties. 

A  public  meeting  was  called  in  the  autumn  of  1877  to 
protest  against  oppressive  taxation.  Mr.  Dodge  spoke 
of  the  growing  debt  of  the  city,  and  its  injurious  bearing 
upon  the  welfare  of  the  working-classes.  He  said :  — 

"  We  are  here  this  evening,  without  distinction  of  party,  repre- 
senting the  tax-payers  of  the  city.  We  find  that  our  public  ex- 
penses have  been  increasing  to  an  alarming  extent.  Between  1850 
and  1860  our  debt  was  enlarged  from  $9,000,000  to  $18,000,000, 
—  an  increase  of  a  hundred  per  cent,  and  the  tax  levy  over  three 
hundred  per  cent.  But  look  at  the  fearful  growth  since  the  war  ! 
Our  indebtedness  is  now  about  $120,000,000,  and  our  annual 
expenses  fully  $30,000,000,  —  almost  double  the  entire  debt  of 
1860;  while  during  the  same  time  our  population  has  increased 
hardly  thirty  per  cent.  Not  long  since  I  rode  by  moonlight 
from  Riverdale  to  the  city,  over  those  miles  and  miles  of  well- 
nigh  uninhabited  Boulevards,  where  millions  of  dollars  have  been 
expended  for  streets  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  advance  of  any  need  ; 
and  although  it  was  nearly  light  enough  to  read,  yet  through  all 


56  CITY   TAXATION. 

those  vast  numbers  of  avenues  and  streets  the  splendid  gas-lights 
were  burning  at  your  expense  and  mine.  The  cost  of  living  in 
New  York  is  so  great  that  young  men  cannot  afford  to  be  married, 
and  if  they  do,  they  must  live  in  some  neighboring  town.  In  1 830 
I  began  housekeeping  in  a  block  of  handsome  two-story  and  attic- 
houses,  just  completed,  in  Bleeker  Street,  between  Broadway  and 
the  Bowery.  I  paid  $300  rent.  I  had  the  curiosity,  a  few  days 
ago,  to  stop  and  inquire  the  present  rent.  The  occupant  said  he 
was  paying  $1,500, — just  five  times  what  I  had  to  give  when  the 
house  was  new  !  People  of  moderate  means,  our  mechanics  and 
laboring-men,  are  as  deeply  interested  in  the  passage  of  the  pend- 
ing constitutional  amendments  as  the  owners  of  real  estate,  —  per- 
haps more  so.  They  are  paying  double  the  rent  that  would  be 
asked  were  it  not  for  this  enormous  city  debt.  If  this  could  be 
decreased,  I  believe  capitalists  would  improve  the  present  favorable 
time  to  put  up  buildings  all  over  the  island,  and  our  mechanics  and 
working-classes  would  find  employment  at  fair  wages,  and  would 
soon,  moreover,  have  better  tenements  at  less  rent.  We  think 
more  of  party  than  property.  Let  us  forget  that  we  are  Demo- 
crats or  Republicans,  and  only  remember  that  we  must  save  New 
York." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  frequently  consulted  by  members  of 
Congress  or  of  the  State  Legislature  respecting  the  char- 
acter of  public  men  or  measures.  He  was  asked  to  testify 
before  the  Congressional  Labor  Committee;  and  in  ex- 
pressing his  views  on  the  prevalent  depression  in  business 
and  the  sufferings  of  the  laboring-classes,  he  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  of  late  years  the  rich  had  indulged  in 
most  extravagant  habits,  and  those  not  so  rich  had  endeav- 
ored to  copy  after  them ;  and  so  down  the  whole  scale  of 
society.  Living  beyond  their  means,  multitudes  had  be- 
come involved  in  debt,  and  in  times  of  pressure  were 
dragged  down  to  ruin. 

The  condition  of  immigrants  into  the  United  States 
was  a  subject  of  interest  to  Mr.  Dodge,  and  he  took 
part  in  various  movements  to  promote  their  welfare.  In 
1870  he  was  named  as  one  of  the  incorporators  of  a 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  57 

proposed  International  Society  for  the  protection  of  this 
class. 

No  one  valued  the  public  schools  of  New  York  more 
highly  than  Mr.  Dodge.  At  a  mass-meeting  held  in 
Cooper  Institute,  May  3,  1870,  to  denounce  legislation 
adverse  to  these  schools,  Mr.  Peter  Cooper  presided,  and 
Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of  the  speakers.  In  his  remarks 
he  said :  — 

"  It  is  the  glory  of  our  land  that  here  every  man  and  every  sect 
may  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  conscience. 
All  their  ecclesiastical  affairs  may  be  managed  as  they  please,  pro- 
vided they  do  not  infringe  upon  the  rights  of  any  other  sect  or 
people,  nor  insist  upon  special  privileges  in  a  way  to  interfere  with 
a  system  intended  for  the  good  of  all.  There  is  no  disguising  the 
fact  that  we  have  in  our  midst  a  sectarian  element,  which  in  all  its 
past  history  has  been  opposed  to  the  education  and  elevation  of 
the  masses,  and  which  claims  to  be  the  true  and  only  representa- 
tive of  the  religion  of  our  Saviour.  The  great  body  of  its  adherents 
have  come  to  this  country  to  escape  the  oppression  and  poverty  of 
the  old ;  but  they  still  acknowledge  ultimate  responsibility  and  alle- 
giance, temporal  and  spiritual,  to  a  foreign  power.  Ignorant  and 
superstitious,  trained  to  rely  implicitly  on  their  religious  advisers, 
with  little  or  no  appreciation  of  our  peculiar  form  of  government, 
they  are  yet,  in  a  short  time,  admitted  to  all  the  rights  of  American 
citizenship.  Now,  if  these  persons  when  taken  into  partnership 
with  us  in  this  noble  inheritance,  purchased  for  us  by  the  toil, 
blood,  and  treasure  of  our  fathers,  would  become  truly  Americans, 
there  would  be  less  danger ;  but  we  all  know  that  the  Catholics  in 
the  United  States  are  an  actual  part  of  the  great  Papal  power,  with 
its  centre  at  Rome,  and,  whatever  they  may  claim  as  Americans,  they 
are  the  subjects  of  the  Pope,  and  through  their  priests  are  bound 
with  chains  stronger  than  iron  to  the  dictates  of  a  foreign  power 
always  antagonistic  to  the  principles  of  popular  government  and 
popular  education.  We  have  only  to  look  at  Spain,  Italy,  and 
Mexico,  to  see  what  America  would  be,  —  and  will  be,  —  if  they 
can  succeed  in  destroying  our  common  schools.  We  welcome  them 
to  all  the  privileges  of  our  free  and  happy  country.  We  throw 


58  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

around  them  the  protection  of  our  laws.  We  offer  them  a  liberal 
portion  of  our  landed  inheritance  without  money  or  price.  We 
agree  to  educate  their  children  free  of  all  cost,  and  to  give  them 
facilities  our  fathers  never  dreamed  of.  We  wish  to  train  them  in 
Christian  morality,  to  cultivate  in  them  a  sacred  regard  for  jus- 
tice and  love  of  country,  to  instil  into  their  minds  the  grand  and 
liberal  principles  upon  which  our  institutions  are  founded.  We 
would  instruct  them  in  frugality,  industry,  temperance,  and  the 
universally  binding  moral  law  of  the  Scripture.  But  they  say, 
'  No  !  You  teach  our  children  the  Bible,  you  allow  them  to  read 
history,  which  may  tell  them  what  we  do  not  wish  them  to  know. 
You  do  not  give  a  "  religious  education."  What  we  want  is  to 
have  our  children  trained  according  to  the  dogmas  of  our  own 
Church,  so  that  we  can  make  them  as  good  subjects  of  a  foreign 
power  as  if  they  had  been  born  there ;  so  that  we  can  hold  all  our 
people  by  the  strong  hand  of  sectarian  influence.  We  demand, 
therefore,  that  all  other  sects  shall  be  taxed  to  support  our  Church 
schools.'  If  we  should  offer  to  substitute  the  Douay  Bible,  it  would 
be  no  more  acceptable,  unless  we  should  allow  Catholic  priests  to 
teach  it,  and  with  it  the  tenets  of  their  Church.  No  !  It  is  the  in- 
fluence of  our  public  schools  and  their  democratic  features,  free 
from  sectarian  bias  ;  it  is  the  mixing  of  their  children  with  ours,  — 
the  tendency  of  these  schools  to  promote  the  true  type  of  American 
character,  and  the  probability  that  children  sent  to  them  will  break 
loose  from  ecclesiastical  authority.  This  is  what  they  fear.  They 
know,  moreover,  the  advantage  of  holding  their  people  in  one 
mass,  and  being  able  to  offer  them  to  whichever  political  party  shall 
do  most  for  them  as  a  sect.  They  make  no  secret  of  their  power  in 
public  affairs.  It  is  triumphant  in  our  city,  and  they  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  boast  that  in  fifty  years  they  will  secure  in  the  entire  coun- 
try what  they  have  gained  here.  They  understand  well  how  and 
when  to  use  their  influence.  We  are  met  to  see  if  anything  can 
be  done  to  arouse  the  city,  the  State,  and  the  whole  land  to  appre- 
ciate the  danger,  and  if  possible  to  avert  it.  Shall  we  allow  our 
noble  system  of  free  schools,  supported  by  all,  and  for  the  educa- 
tion of  all,  to  be  destroyed  ?  This  is  the  issue.  Once  let  Roman 
Catholics  have  a  portion  of  our  fund  raised  by  general  tax  go  to 
sustain  their  sectarian  schools,  and  every  sect  may  demand  the 
same." 


COMMERCIAL  INTEGRITY.  59 

Mr.  Dodge's  position  in  the  mercantile  world  gave 
weight  to  such  public  utterances.  He  always  entertained 
a  lofty  conception  of  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of  a 
merchant,  especially  in  a  great  city.  The  thought  was 
expressed,  with  characteristic  grace,  by  his  intimate  friend 
—  and  at  one  time  his  pastor — the  Rev.  William  Adams, 
D.D.,  at  an  anniversary  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
(May  i,  1873),  where  Mr.  Dodge  presided.  The  words 
were  perhaps  uttered  then  with  no  personal  reference ;  but 
they  seem  now  to  have  a  life-like  application  to  more  than 
one  dear  to  the  speaker,  and  to  none,  it  may  be,  more  truly 
than  to  the  friend  who  presided  that  night. 

"  I  know  not  the  man,  at  this  period  of  time,  who  occupies 
a  position  more  exalted  above  the  valor  of  the  soldier  or  the  arts 
of  the  politician,  with  opportunities  more  auspicious  in  their  bear- 
ing on  the  well-being  of  society,  than  a  merchant,  intelligent  in 
mind,  honest  in  principle,  cultivated  in  tastes,  simple  in  manners, 
generous  in  sympathies,  liberal  in  conception,  bountiful  in  gifts,  — 
the  accredited  friend  of  letters,  science,  art,  charity,  and  religion, 
standing  on  the  summit  of  commercial  success,  the  honored  almoner 
of  a  benignant  Providence." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  eager  to  impress  upon  others,  especially 
the  young,  the  necessity  of  cultivating  in  all  business  rela- 
tions a  character  for  integrity,  and  of  making  the  largest 
and  noblest  use  of  opportunities.  At  the  close  of  his  ad- 
dress on  Old  New  York,  he  turned  to  the  young  men 
before  him  and  said :  — 

"  Those  who  have  been  identified  with  the  commercial  history 
of  our  cities  during  the  last  half  century  are  fast  passing  away. 
We  are  to  commit  to  other  hands,  under  God,  the  future  of  these 
cities  and  the  influence  they  are  to  exert  on  the  nation.  We  have 
lived  amid  eventful  times,  and  you,  my  young  friends,  enter  upon 
your  life-work  under  many  advantages.  There  are  some  things 
which  lead  the  Christian  patriot  to  fear,  as  he  looks  to  the  future  of 
the  country.  We  are  still  to  test  the  problem  of  our  republican  form 
of  government  with  a  nation  of  one  hundred  millions,  extending 


60  RESOLUTIONS  OF  RESPECT. 

from  ocean  to  ocean.  We  all  feel  that  the  real  security,  under 
Providence,  is  in  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  people.  Our  rapid 
growth  in  population  and  wealth ;  the  ambition  of  our  citizens  to 
become  suddenly  rich ;  the  great  variety  of  incorporated  companies 
for  every  conceivable  object,  pressing  their  stock  on  the  market ; 
the  immense  power  of  capital  invested  in  our  railways,  and  the  reck- 
less mode  of  manipulating  shares,  —  all  these  have  engendered  a 
spirit  of  speculation  most  dangerous  to  regular  business.  As  you 
would  aid  in  the  prosperity  and  perpetuity  of  our  city  and  nation, 
let  me  urge  you  to  maintain  a  high  standard  of  mercantile 
honor." 

At  the  special  meeting  called  by  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce on  the  day  following  Mr.  Dodge's  death,  the  reso- 
lutions of  sympathy  and  respect  make  this  reference  to  his 
standing  in  the  mercantile  community:  — 

"  In  the  successful  career  of  this  distinguished  merchant  we  find 
an  example  of  the  results  of  sagacity,  strict  attention  to  details,  and 
perfect  integrity.  He  has  always,  here  and  elsewhere,  through 
a  long  and  eventful  life,  enjoyed  the  unfailing  confidence  of  his 
fellow-merchants.  This  Chamber  records  with  profound  satisfac- 
tion its  appreciation  of  his  public  spirit,  of  the  philanthropy  and 
unbounded  charity  with  which  he  maintained  the  character  of  the 
American  merchant." 

Mr.  A.  A.  Low,  in  his  remarks  on  this  occasion,  said : 

"  We  are  met  as  those  who  mourn  the  loss  of  a  beloved  associate 
and  friend  who  for  eight  successive  years  was  president  of  this 
Chamber ;  but  more  than  this  to  lament  the  death  of  a  noble  man, 
who  for  half  a  century  has  been  visible  as  a  foremost  figure  in 
most  of  the  important  movements  which  have  served  to  advance 
our  city  in  knowledge  and  in  wealth  and  in  that  true  greatness 
which  exalts  a  community.  We  deplore  the  loss  of  one  who  was 
conspicuous  in  commercial  life  as  a  sagacious,  enterprising,  and  suc- 
cessful merchant,  who  recognized  his  responsibility  as  a  steward 
in  the  manifold  uses  to  which  he  so  generously  devoted  his  riches. 
He  was  a  benefactor  indeed,  aiding  —  in  ways  too  numerous  to  re- 
count —  individual  and  associate  charity,  and  in  every  effort  that 
aimed  to  reform  the  outcast  and  inebriate. 


REMARKS   OF   MEMBERS.  6l 

"  He  was  a  man  of  boundless  activity,  and  this  made  him  a  most 
valuable  acquisition  to  the  various  and  important  institutions  with 
which  he  was  connected ;  and  to  all  he  imparted  the  ardor  of  an 
enthusiastic  nature  and  the  vigor  of  a  ripe  and  discerning  judg- 
ment. Nor  do  I  forget  he  was  a  patriot  as  well  as  a  philanthropist 
and  a  Christian,  and  how  cordially  and  efficiently  he  exerted  him- 
self in  matters  of  great  national  concern,  both  in  and  out  of  Con- 
gress, but  more  especially  in  that  season  of  gravest  peril  to  the 
Union,  —  our  Civil  War." 

The  Hon.  S.  B.  Chittenden,  in  seconding  the  resolutions, 
remarked :  — 

"  Mr.  Dodge  has  been  an  active,  living  force  in  New  York  for 
more  than  sixty  years.  His  career  as  a  useful  man  has  been  won- 
derful. He  has  witnessed  the  growth  of  the  population  of  the 
metropolis,  including  the  suburbs,  from  a  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  to  two  millions,  with  all  the  wealth  and  power  so  grand 
an  aggregation  of  human  activities  imply.  In  and  through  all  this 
remarkable  development  Mr.  Dodge  has  been  a  prominent  and 
influential  figure.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  exaggerate  his  activity, 
or  to  magnify  too  much  his  public  and  private  virtues.  His  was 
the  spirit  of  honest  enterprise.  He  loved  to  make  money,  and 
had  a  faculty  for  the  accumulation  of  property  by  right  methods  ; 
but  he  also  had,  in  larger  measure,  the  higher  and  more  enviable 
faculty  for  a  wise  distribution  of  property  for  the  welfare  of  man- 
kind. It  is  not  the  fortune  of  many  merchants  to  make  so  deep 
an  impress  upon  their  times  as  Mr.  Dodge  has  made.  Let  us 
hope  that  his  merited  fame  will  speak  through  many  centuries,  and 
that  his  example  will  be  an  inspiration  to  future  generations  of  this 
Chamber  of  Commerce." 

A  truthful  and  animated  likeness  of  Mr.  Dodge,  painted 
by  Daniel  Huntington,  president  of  the  National  Academy, 
now  hangs  upon  the  walls  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
among  those  of  other  eminent  members.  A  portrait  of  his 
father-in-law,  Anson  G.  Phelps,  who  became  a  member  in 
1825,  has  also  recently  been  added  to  this  gallery. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CONNECTION   WITH    RAILROADS.- 

"pAILROADS  have  made  the  United  States.  But  it 
-LV  required  sagacious,  large-minded,  daring  men  to 
make  the  railroads ;  and  yet  the  wildest  dreamer  among 
early  railway  pioneers  never  anticipated  such  vast  and 
rapid  results.  Mr.  Dodge  was  familiar  with  the  first  dawn- 
ings  of  the  system  in  this  country,  and  he  lived  to  see  it 
stretched  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  miles.  No 
one  took  a  keener  or  more  intelligent  interest  in  this 
development,  and  few  have  given  it  larger  personal 
service. 

The  building  of  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  first 
attracted  Mr.  Dodge's  energies.  The  State  had  passed  an 
act  in  1836  providing  for  a  second  mortgage  loan  of  three 
million  dollars,  on  condition  that  subscriptions  should  be 
obtained  for  a  similar  amount  of  stock.  Public  meetings 
were  held,  and  the  merchants  appointed  committees  to  go 
from  store  to  store  and  solicit  subscriptions.  Mr.  Dodge 
took  an  active  part  in  this  work ;  and  at  one  of  the  large 
gatherings  of  business  men  where  much  despondency  pre- 
vailed, he  sprang  upon  a  chair,  and  changed  the  whole 
current  of  feeling  by  a  vivid  and  forcible  representation  of 
the  advantages  to  both  city  and  State  inevitably  to  follow 
the  completion  of  the  great  highway.  It  was  the  impulse 
of  the  moment ;  but  it  revealed  a  clear  grasp  of  the  subject 
and  a  courage  always  most  conspicuous  when  large  interests 
were  most  in  peril. 


CONNECTION   WITH   RAILROADS.  63 

Mr.  Dodge  was  himself  surprised  the  next  day  to  receive 
an  announcement  of  his  election  to  the  Board  of  Directors. 
For  twelve  years  he  labored  unceasingly  to  overcome  the 
financial  and  engineering  difficulties  incident  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  times  and  the  character  of  the  route.  As 
the  line  advanced  section  by  section,  and  public  celebra- 
tions marked  each  new  stage,  his  voice  was  prominent  in 
congratulation  and  encouragement  ;  and  when,  in  May, 
1851,  the  last  rail  was  laid,  and  President  Fillmore,  Daniel 
Webster,  and  others  of  the  Cabinet,  with  members  from 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  distinguished  men  and  dele- 
gations from  New  York  and  from  different  parts  of  the 
State  and  country,  assembled  at  Dunkirk,  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Erie,  to  commemorate  the  glad  event,  Mr.  Dodge's 
enthusiasm  was  unbounded.  He  was  appointed  to  respond 
to  the  welcome  tendered  to  the  directors  and  their  guests. 
He  said :  — 

"  I  am  utterly  at  a  loss  to  find  words  to  express  my  own  feel- 
ings, much  less  to  give  vent  to  the  deep  emotions  of  my  associates, 
as  we  begin  to  realize  the  fact  that  we  are  at  the  end  of  our  long 
and  toilsome  journey,  that  our  eyes  look  out  upon  this  mighty 
lake  and  backwards  over  a  continuous  line  of  rail  to  our  city 
homes.  Oh,  yes  !  it  is  no  fiction  ;  we  have  reached  the  goal  of 
our  hopes.  And  now,  as  we  look  back  upon  the  days  of  darkness, 
disappointment,  and  toil,  —  and  they  were  many, — let  us  to-day 
forget  them  all  in  our  rejoicing  that  over  all  we  have  triumphed, 
and  that  at  last  this  arduous  work  has  been  accomplished.  The 
Empire  City  and  the  great  West,  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  inland 
seas,  are  by  this  ligature  of  iron  made  one. 

"  Who  will  attempt  to  predict  the  future  of  this  road  ?  Although 
my  friends  have  called  me  crazy  in.  my  estimates  of  its  growth,  I 
feel  to-day  that  if  I  am  spared  to  make  fresh  estimates  ten  years 
hence,  I  shall  wonder  at  my  present  tame  views  and  stinted  calcu- 
lations. 

"  What  mind  can  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  this  country  ? 
What  was  Buffalo  or  Cleveland,  Detroit,  Cincinnati,  or  St.  Louis, 
in  1832,  when  this  road  was  chartered?  Where  were  Wisconsin, 


64  CONNECTION    WITH    RAILROADS. 

Iowa,  and  Minnesota ;  where  California  and  Oregon  ?  Just  in 
proportion  as  this  country  expands,  and  its  foreign  and  domestic 
commerce  develops,  will  the  business  of  this  road  increase.  Who 
can  compute  its  income  and  importance  as  years  go  on? 

"  We  accept  with  deep  emotion  your  cordial  welcome  ;  and  we 
say  to  the  people  of  these  counties  and  to  the  multitudes  in  the 
West  who  have  long  watched  for  the  completion  of  our  task :  '  We 
have  built  this  highway  for  you  and  for  your  posterity.'  " 

During  the  festivities  a  grand  barbecue  and  open-air 
meeting  took  place ;  but  when  speeches  were  in  order,  no 
one  could  gain  a  hearing.  Mr.  Dodge,  with  characteristic 
promptness  and  tact,  borrowed  a  huge  bandanna  handker- 
chief from  the  hand  of  a  friend  near  by,  and,  standing  on 
his  favorite  impromptu  platform,  —  a  stout  chair,  —  waved 
the  flaming  colors  back  and  forth  until  the  entire  throng 
stopped  to  learn  the  meaning  of  such  an  extraordinary 
signal.  Then,  in  his  strong,  clear  voice,  he  shouted  :  "  Far- 
mers !  what  do  you  get  for  eggs?  What  is  the  price  of 
butter?  How  do  you  sell  your  chickens?  "  The  country 
people  were  at  home  now.  Answers  came  back  from  all 
directions ;  question  upon  question  followed ;  and  every 
man  was  soon  glad  to  hear  how  his  farm  had  already  in- 
creased in  value  because  its  products  could  now  be  swiftly 
carried  to  a  sure  and  permanent  market.  The  next  speak- 
ers found  an  audience  ready  to  listen. 

While  the  Delaware  division  of  the  Erie  was  under 
construction  Mr.  Dodge  became  acquainted  with  the 
remarkable  resources  of  the  Lackawanna  valley.  Two 
brothers  —  George  W.  and  Selden  T.  Scranton  —  had  estab- 
lished there  a  small  iron  furnace  and  rolling-mill,  and  had 
given  their  name  to  the  hamlet  which  has  since  grown  into 
the  third  city  of  Pennsylvania.  Wishing  to  enlarge  their 
works,  these  brothers  asked  the  Erie  Company  to  loan 
them  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  payment  to  be  made 
in  rails,  and  a  mortgage  to  be  taken  upon  their  property, 
which  included  the  mills  and  several  thousand  acres  of 


CONNECTION   WITH   RAILROADS.  65 

land,  part  of  it  rich  in  coal  and  iron.  Mr.  Dodge  and 
Mr.  Benjamin  Loder,  then  president  of  the  road,  were  ap- 
pointed to  visit  the  locality,  and  report.  They  found  that 
unavoidable  delays  in  making  the  improvements  would 
prevent  an  acceptance  of  the  original  proposition;  but 
Mr.  Dodge  became  so  much  impressed  with  the  prospec- 
tive value  of  this  property  that  in  1853,  after  consultation 
with  the  Messrs.  Scranton,  he  invited  a  number  of  friends 
to  meet  at  his  office  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  company. 
His  father-in-law,  Anson  G.  Phelps,  became  the  first  sub- 
scriber, and  he  himself  the  second.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  now  widely  known  Lackawanna  Iron  and 
Coal  Co. 

Out  of  this  organization  others  soon  grew.  A  line  of 
railroad  was  built,  through  Leggett's  Gap  to  Great  Bend, 
connecting  Scranton  with  the  Erie  Road  ;  another  was 
constructed  to  join  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad,  and 
thus  carry  coal  directly  to  New  York ;  next  was  added  a 
branch  northward  to  Binghampton,  and  then  to  Owego  and 
Ithaca,  to  supply  northern  New  York  with  coal  through 
Lake  Cayuga,  —  the  whole  being  afterwards  consolidated 
into  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna,  and  Western  Railroad. 
Numerous  other  connections  followed.  With  the  Morris 
and  Essex  Railroad,  the  Syracuse  and  Binghampton  and 
New  York  Railroad,  and  the  Oswego  and  Syracuse  Rail- 
road, an  unbroken  line  was  established  from  New  York  to 
Lake  Ontario.  Still  later  more  branches  were  thrust  out, 
—  one  southwest  to  Bloomsburg  and  Northumberland,  and 
one  northeast  to  Utica,  with  a  spur  to  Richfield  Springs ; 
and,  finally,  the  main  line  was  carried  to  Buffalo,  giving  a 
terminus  on  Lake  Erie,  and  thus  securing  connections  by 
water  and  rail  with  the  entire  Northwest.  In  all  of  these 
associated  enterprises  Mr.  Dodge  was  interested ;  in  most 
of  them  he  was  a  director  and  energetic  supporter. 

Another  of  the  great  trunk  lines  running  into  New  York 
city,  the  Central  Railroad  Co.  of  New  Jersey,  commanded 

5 


66  CONNECTION   WITH    RAILROADS. 

much  of  Mr.  Dodge's  time  and  thought.  In  1843  he  cut 
the  first  spadeful  of  sod  when  the  work  was  begun ;  and 
for  thirty  years  he  was  an  active  member  of  the  Board 
of  Directors. 

In  Texas  he  became  one  of  the  early  builders  of  the 
Houston  and  Texas  Central  Railroad,  and  was  for  seven 
years  its  president. 

He  was  a  director  of  the  two  lines  subsequently  consoli- 
dated into  the  International  and  Great  Northern  Railroad, 
—  all  of  these  enterprises  looking  forward  to  a  connection 
with  railroads  in  Mexico.  At  other  points  in  the  South  and 
West  Mr.  Dodge  had  railway  interests.  In  1868  he  be- 
came one  of  the  incorporators  to  construct  and  operate  an 
underground  railway;  and  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  take 
stock  in  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad,  believing  some 
such  system  essential  to  the  growth  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Dodge  had  large  faith  in  railroads.  There  was 
something  congenial  to  his  nature  in  the  magnitude, 
energy,  and  promptness  of  their  operations.  He  believed 
in  their  civilizing  agency,  their  power  to  develop  the  re- 
sources of  the  country,  to  facilitate  trade,  to  bring  the 
people  into  closer  contact,  and  cement  together  different 
sections.  He  loved  to  study  existing  routes,  to  project 
new  lines  and  discuss  their  advantages,  not  merely  because 
they  might  become  profitable  investments,  —  although  he 
was  fully  alive  to  such  considerations,  —  but  largely  because 
he  felt  they  might  be  made  channels  of  good  to  the  com- 
munities through  which  they  passed,  and  because  of  their 
magical  influence  in  awakening  new  life  and  opening  up 
still  wider  territory. 

As  years  advanced,  however,  and  he  saw  railroads  spread- 
ing in  every  direction  with  such  amazing  rapidity,  he  began 
to  fear  there  was,  in  the  very  greatness  and  wide  extension 
of  this  system,  an  element  of  peril  to  one  of  the  most 
cherished  and  vital  characteristics  of  our  national  life. 

In  an  address  delivered  in  Boston  at  the  State  Sabbath 


CONNECTION   WITH   RAILROADS.  67 

Convention,  October,  1879,  he  uttered  an  earnest  warning 
against  this  dangerous  encroachment:  — 

"  Railroads  have  wrought  wonders  in  the  rapid  development 
and  general  prosperity  of  our  country  during  the  last  half  century. 
They  have  become  the  great  highway  for  the  millions,  have  vastly 
increased  travel,  brought  the  distant  parts  of  the  land  together, 
given  to  commerce  a  new  impulse,  equalized  values  of  the  soil  and 
manufactory,  and  made  a  journey  of  thousands  of  miles  scarcely 
more  than  a  pleasure  trip.  They  have  become  every  day  more 
and  more  an  absolute  necessity. 

"With  thousands  of  millions  of  dollars  invested  in  them,  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  our  citizens  employed  in  building  and 
running  them,  or  in  providing  their  equipment  and  supplies,  with 
the  vast  number  of  stockholders  and  the  great  travelling  commu- 
nity, their  influence  is  beyond  calculation. 

"  But  if  railroads  cannot  be  conducted  without  changing  the 
habits  and  customs  of  our  people,  and  trampling  on  the  right  of 
the  community  to  a  quiet  day  for  rest  and  worship,  training  up 
their  armies  of  employees  to  desecrate  the  Sabbath,  and  rushing 
past  our  cities  and  towns  and  peaceful  villages,  screaming  as  they 
go,  '  No  Sabbath  !  No  Sabbath  ! '  —  then  they  will  become  a  curse 
rather  than  a  blessing.  The  fact  is,  the  railroad  interest  has  be- 
come the  all-powerful,  overshadowing  interest  of  the  country,  and 
every  year  adds  to  it.  Railroads  will  double  in  the  next  twenty 
years.  What  is  done  must  be  done  promptly. 

"  The  question  of  the  day  for  every  one  who  loves  his  country 
and  believes  in  the  value  and  importance  of  the  Christian  Sabbath 
as  we  in  America  have  honored  and  maintained  it,  the  great  ques- 
tion is  :  '  Shall  this  mighty  railroad  interest  become  one  of  the 
chief  instruments  in  transforming  our  American  Sabbath  into  the 
Continental  holiday,  or  —  as  it  is  fast  growing  to  be  —  a  day  like 
all  the  others  of  the  week?'  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  within  the 
power  of  the  intelligent  lovers  of  the  Sabbath,  associated  with 
the  Christian  stockholders  in  these  roads,  to  bring  about  a  change 
that  shall  stop  the  transit  of  freight-trains  and  reduce  the  passenger 
traffic  to  such  an  extent  that  the  influence  shall  tell  on  the  side 
of  Sabbath  observance.  I  have  no  question  that  if  Christian  men, 
when  about  to  invest  in  the  securities  of  a  railroad,  would  ask, 


68  CONNECTION   WITH   RAILROADS. 

'  Does  this  road  run  on  Sunday  ?  '  and  if  so,  refuse  to  put  money 
there,  it  would  go  far  to  settle  this  problem.  But  if  the  only 
inquiry  is,  '  Does  the  road  pay  regular  dividends?  '  no  matter  how 
they  get  the  money,  do  not  be  too  sure  of  your  dividends. 
Those  over-worked  engineers,  conductors,  or  brakemen,  may  lose 
all  interest  in  their  duties,  become  discouraged  and  careless,  or  in- 
capable of  that  prompt  action  necessary  in  the  moment  of  danger, 
and  an  accident  may  occur  which  will  not  only  send  many  into 
eternity,  but  cause  a  loss  that  will  make  a  dividend  impossible. 

"  Railway  managers  determined  to  use  the  Sabbath  as  any  other 
day  must  either  drive  Sabbath-loving  employes  from  their  roads, 
or  so  demoralize  them  that  they  will  soon  come  to  feel,  if  there  is 
no  binding  force  in  the  fourth  commandment,  there  is  none  in  the 
eighth  !  Stockholders  will  find  they  have  a  pecuniary  interest  in 
so  conducting  their  roads  that  men  can  be  employed  who  believe 
they  have  a  right  to  claim  the  one  day's  rest  which  God  and  nature 
demand." 

In  this  address  Mr.  Dodge  cites  with  gratification  the 
fact  that  in  the  two  roads  in  which  he  was  most  largely 
interested,  —  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna,  and  Western,  and 
the  Houston  and  Texas  Central,  —  when  a  change  of  gauge 
was  necessary  (in  one  case  for  three  hundred  miles,  and 
the  other  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles),  in  neither  in- 
stance was  the  Sabbath  taken  for  this  work. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Rufus  W.  Clark,  D.D.,  of  Albany, 
who  was  collecting  facts  for  a  series  of  sermons  and  articles 
on  "  Sunday  Railway  Desecration,"  Mr.  Dodge  writes, 
December,  1882:  — 

"  No  one  can  estimate  the  immense  value  to  the  country  of  our 
system  of  railroads.  It  has  done  for  us  more  than  all  else.  But 
for  it  our  country  would  hardly  have  extended  west  of  Chicago. 
Yet  it  has  done  more  than  all  else  to  destroy  our  Sabbath,  and  it 
is  becoming  worse  and  worse  every  year.  Many  roads  now  use 
the  Sabbath  for  making  up  extra  freight  trains  to  clear  away  the 
accumulated  freight  of  the  week,  thus  running  more  such  trains  on 
Sunday  than  any  other  day.  It  is  also  the  special  day  for  repairs 


CONNECTION   WITH   RAILROADS.  69 

to  cars  and  engines,  and  the  shops  of  many  roads  are  more  busy 
then  than  any  day  of  the  week. 

"  I  contend  that  by  such  a  policy  these  roads  are  driving  away 
their  best  workmen,  and  making  the  bulk  of  their  employes  men 
who  have  not  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  and  hence  are  not 
to  be  fully  trusted.  No  positions  are  more  responsible  than  those 
of  engineers  and  conductors.  If  they  are  not  honest,  conscientious, 
and  also  sober  men,  all  who  travel  run  great  risk,  as  well  as  the 
owners  of  the  roads.  The  time  has  come  when  Christian  men 
must  realize  the  fact  that  in  becoming  stockholders  they  become 
partners,  and  will  be  held  accountable  by  God  if  they  continue 
as  partners  in  roads  that  are  breaking  his  commandments.  It  is 
entirely  within  the  power  of  Christian  stock  and  bond  holders  to 
stop  the  running  of  trains  on  the  Sabbath.  Let  it  once  be  well 
understood  that  Christians  will  not  invest  in  roads  that  disregard 
the  Sabbath,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  companies  would  see  that 
to  maintain  the  price  of  their  securities  they  must  respect  the  feel- 
ings of  the  best  men  in  the  country,  who  now  hold  hundreds  of 
millions  of  railway  stock  and  bonds." 

The  letter  from  which  these  extracts  are  taken  was 
written  within  a  few  weeks  of  Mr.  Dodge's  death.  It  was 
published  by  Dr.  Clark,  and  somewhat  widely  copied  by 
papers  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  The  New  York 
"  Independent,"  in  referring  to  it,  closes  a  long  and  vigor- 
ous article  in  these  words :  — 

"  The  fact  that  the  violation  is  committed  by  a  railroad  corpora- 
tion in  no  sense  mitigates  or  condones  the  offence.  The  corpo- 
rators in  this  case  are  the  offenders,  including  the  stockholders  and 
directors.  They  own  and  control  the  agency  that  breaks  the 
Sabbath.  They  treat  it  as  they  do  any  other  day,  and  in  so  doing 
trample  the  law  of  God  under  their  feet.  They  hire  and  pay 
a  large  number  of  employe's  to  desecrate  the  day  in  their  name 
and  service.  They  do  it  for  profit.  They  furnish  facilities  for 
other  Sabbath-breakers  to  disregard  the  authority  of  God.  There 
is  no  justifiable  plea  of  necessity  for  so  doing,  any  more  than  there 
is  for  running  all  the  manufacturing  establishments  of  the  country 
on  the  Sabbath,  or  keeping  stores  open,  or  continuing  the  ordinary 


7O  CONNECTION   WITH   RAILROADS. 

operations  of  farming.  We  believe  that  if  all  Christian  men 
throughout  the  United  States  would  take  the  position  of  William 
E.  Dodge  and  firmly  hold  it,  this  great  enormity  of  Sabbath-break- 
ing by  railroads  would  speedily  be  very  largely  abated,  if  not 
wholly  brought  to  an  end.  Not  one  of  them  would  be  a  director 
or  stockholder  in  any  such  road.  The  protest  would  be  so  loud 
and  universal  as  to  be  felt  in  all  parts  of  the  land.  If  the  position 
is  a  good  one  for  him  to  take,  why  is  it  not  just  as  good  for  every 
other  Christian  man?  Mr.  Dodge  is  clearly  right,  or  the  whole 
theory  of  the  Church  as  to  the  Divine  authority  and  sacredness  of 
the  Sabbath  is  wrong." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  true  to  his  principles.  He  resigned  as 
a  director  of  the  Erie  Railroad  when,  notwithstanding  his 
protest  and  exertions,  Sunday  trains  were  decided  upon. 
For  the  same  reason  he  closed  his  long  connection  with  the 
New  Jersey  Central  Railroad,  promptly  selling  his  stock. 
When  he  learned  that  the  Elevated  Railroad  would  run  its 
trains  on  Sunday,  he  at  once  sold  out.  On  the  Texas  Road, 
while  he  was  president,  no  Sunday  trains  were  allowed ; 
and  in  the  entire  history  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna,  and 
Western  Railroad  no  fact  gave  him  greater  pleasure  than  to 
be  able  to  point  to  its  uniform  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 

For  thirty-three  years  he  was  intimately  identified  with 
the  operations  of  this  road ;  and  the  zeal  with  which  he 
labored  in  all  such  undertakings  may  perhaps  be  best 
illustrated  by  giving,  in  part,  the  resolutions  passed  by 
his  associates  in  this  Company  upon  the  announcement 
of  his  death :  — 

"  From  the  original  organization  of  this  Company  as  the  outlet 
of  the  resources  of  the  Lackawanna  valley,  in  the  earlier  develop- 
ment of  which  he  had  been  largely  instrumental,  he  has  been  an 
earnest  and  unfaltering  promoter  of  its  interests. 

"  True  to  his  duties  as  a  director,  and  from  the  first  to  the  last 
conscientiously  faithful  to  the  trusts  reposed  in  him  by  its  stock- 
holders, its  growth  and  its  prosperity  have  in  no  small  degree 
been  due  to  his  wise  counsels,  helpful  co-operation,  and  important 
influence. 


CONNECTION   WITH    RAILROADS.  71 

"  We,  his  associates,  know  with  what  unswerving  fidelity  he  has 
fulfilled  his  duties  as  a  member  of  this  Board  and  of  its  Execu- 
tive Committee.  We  know  how  greatly  his  personal  kindness  and 
unfailing  courtesy  have  endeared  him  to  our  affections,  and  how 
deeply  his  integrity,  public  spirit,  and  large-hearted  benevolence 
are  impressed  upon  our  respect;  and  we  also  know  that  the 
memory  of  his  useful  life  and  noble  life-work,  already  so  widely 
known  and  recognized  by  our  community,  will  long  be  cherished 
with  loving  reverence." 


CHAPTER    V. 

PUBLIC   AND    PATRIOTIC. 

TN  the  memorable  Presidential  struggle  of  1844  Mr. 
•*•  Dodge  was  a  moderate  Whig  and  a  supporter  of 
Henry  Clay.  He  was  opposed  to  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  the  extension  of  slavery,  and  the  reduction  of  the 
tariff. 

Early  in  that  year,  and  also  in  the  year  following,  he 
was  solicited  to  accept  a  nomination  to  the  Common  Coun- 
cil of  New  York  as  alderman  for  the  ward  in  which  he 
then  resided,  the  Sixteenth.  In  those  days  to  be  an  alder- 
man was  happily  a  distinction  still  held  in  repute.  In 
declining  the  honor,  Mr.  Dodge  pleads  impaired  health 
and  an  extraordinary  pressure  of  business  and  other  duties. 
He  expresses,  however,  sympathy  with  the  principles  of 
the  Association  tendering  the  nomination.  This  was  an 
American  Republican  organization,  holding,  as  one  article 
of  its  political  creed,  the  Know  Nothing,  or  Nativism  doc- 
trine, which  looked  with  jealousy  upon  foreign-born  vo- 
ters. But  Mr.  Dodge's  interest,  at  any  time,  in  local  or 
national  politics  was  chiefly  that  of  the  enlightened  citizen 
and  large-minded  patriot.  He  had  no  personal  ambitions, 
and  no  taste  for  the  methods  and  associations  of  ordinary 
office-seekers.  He  prized  the  right  to  vote,  and  rarely 
failed  to  exercise  it.  He  had  firm  faith  in  the  American 
form  of  government,  and  he  loved  his  country  beyond  all 
claims  of  party,  State,  or  section.  By  nature  he  abhorred 
faction  and  strife ;  he  would  settle  difficulties  by  arbitration 
or  righteous  compromise.  He  longed  to  be  at  peace  with 


PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC.  73 

his  neighbors,  and  to  see  relations  of  kindness  between  all 
parts  of  his  own  country,  and  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
War  he  regarded  as  an  intolerable  evil,  only  to  be  accepted 
as  a  last  and  dire  resort.  His  long  and  prominent  connection 
with  different  branches  of  trade,  and  his  unusually  exten- 
sive and  cordial  personal  acquaintance  with  business  men 
from  almost  every  State  and  Territory,  made  him  recoil 
from  any  prospect  of  civil  conflict.  He  believed  a  fratri- 
cidal war  would  inevitably  and  to  an  incalculable  degree 
entail  ruin  upon  trade,  misery  in  families,  bitterness  be- 
tween brothers,  and  disaster  to  the  religious  as  well  as  sec- 
ular interests  of  the  nation.  Hence  he  saw  with  anxious 
apprehension  the  increasing  indications  of  alienation  and 
antagonism  between  the  North  and  the  South.  He  could 
not  tolerate  hot  Abolitionists,  and  yet  he  was  no  friend 
to  slavery.  He  looked  upon  it  as  an  evil  at  some  time 
and  in  some  way  to  be  peaceably  removed,  but  not  to 
be  interfered  with  where  it  then  existed.  He  advocated 
emancipation,  and  was  an  active  member  of  the  New  York 
branch  of  the  Colonization  Society,  and  took  warm  inter- 
est in  the  Republic  of  Liberia. 

In  1856  we  find  him  sympathizing  with  the  struggle  to 
make  Kansas  a  free  State.  In  the  Presidential  contest 
of  1860  he  sided  at  first  with  the  party  representing  the 
"  Old  Whigs  "  and  "  Americans,"  having  Bell  and  Everett 
as  candidates,  and  as  a  watchword,  "  The  Union  and  the 
Constitution."  In  March  he  presided  at  a  meeting  in 
Cooper  Institute  in  the  interest  of  this  strongly  conser- 
vative party.  On  taking  the  chair  he  spoke  in  part  as 
follows :  — 

"  Fellow-citizens,  in  accepting  an  invitation  to  preside  over  your 
deliberations  this  evening,  I  do  it,  not  because  I  am  a  politician, 
—  I  never  have  been,  I  never  expect  to  be,  —  I  do  it  because 
I  have  always  been  a  Union  man.  My  impression  is  that  not  only 
in  the  hearts  of  those  present  to-night,  but  throbbing  in  the  hearts 
of  thousands  —  in  the  Northern  States,  and  also  in  the  Southern  — 


74  PUBLIC  AND   PATRIOTIC. 

up  and  down  the  whole  length  of  our  land,  there  is  a  strong  feeling 
that  the  time  has  arrived  when  all  who  love  their  country  must 
come  out  and  sustain  those  who  are  striving  for  union  rather  than 
for  party.  There  is  a  feeling,  much  more  extensive  than  is  gener- 
ally supposed,  that  we  should  leave  the  great  agitating  subject  of 
slavery  in  the  hands  of  those  who  hold  the  slaves.  They  are  will- 
ing to  bear  the  responsibility,  and  it  is  our  duty  no  longer  to  meddle 
with  an  institution  which  belongs  strictly  to  them,  and  which  they 
have  a  constitutional  right  to  maintain.  It  is  not  possible  that  the 
spirit  of  crimination  and  recrimination  which  has  characterized 
our  people  for  the  last  few  years  can  much  longer  exist  with- 
out bringing  about  that  fearful  catastrophe  which  when  I  was 
young  it  was  deemed  a  sin  even  to  think  of,  but  which  has  now 
become  so  common  in  the  mouths  of  politicians,  —  the  idea  of 
severing  the  union  of  these  United  States.  Such  a  thought  cannot 
be  endured ! " 

As  events  developed,  however,  and  it  became  manifest 
that  some,  at  least,  of  the  Southern  States  had  determined, 
at  all  hazards,  to  secede,  Mr.  Dodge  ranged  himself  on  the 
side  of  pure  Republican  principles,  and  labored  for  the 
election  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  In  September  of  this  year,  1860, 
at  a  mass  meeting  that  not  only  filled  the  great  hall  of  the 
Cooper  Institute,  but  overflowed  into  the  adjoining  streets, 
Mr.  Dodge  seconded  the  resolutions  ratifying  the  nomina- 
tion of  Mr.  E.  D.  Morgan  as  governor  of  New  York,  and 
approving  the  position  of  the  Republican  party  on  national 
questions.  Notwithstanding  the  steady  and  hostile  drift  of 
public  opinion  on  both  sides,  Mr.  Dodge  still  hoped  some 
method  of  pacification  could  be  found.  He  was  prominent 
and  persistent  in  efforts  to  this  end. 

In  January,  1861,  he  became  a  member  of  a  committee 
of  twenty-five,  appointed  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  to 
be  the  bearers  of  a  memorial  having  thirty-eight  thousand 
signatures,  praying  Congress  to  adopt  some  measures  ade- 
quate to  the  settlement  of  the  national  difficulties.  It  was 
the  voice  of  the  commercial  emporium,  and  it  urged  the 
wisdom  of  tendering  to  the  South  the  utmost  concessions 


PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC.  75 

consistent  with  honor  and  principle.  In  an  address  at 
Washington  a  few  days  later,  Mr.  Dodge  says  of  this 
petition :  — 

"  Among  those  who  signed  it  were  more  than  twenty  thousand 
business  men  and  firms.  The  petition  was  earnest  and  emphatic. 
We  prayed  that  Congress  would  relieve  the  country  from  the 
anxiety  and  apprehension  which  pervaded  it,  and  permit  business 
and  commerce  to  resume  their  accustomed  channels.  We  knew 
the  time  had  come  when  patriotic  men  must  act ;  that  commercial 
and  financial  ruin  was  impending.  Our  petition  set  forth  that  in 
the  opinion  of  the  signers  the  plan  embodied  in  what  were  called 
'  The  Border  State  Resolutions  '  was  best  calculated  to  secure  the 
end  desired.  We  thought  those  resolutions  ought  to  be  satisfac- 
tory to  the  reasonable  and  true  men  of  the  South,  and  ought  not 
to  be  obnoxious  to  the  prejudices  or  objections  of  the  people  of 
the  Free  States.  Still  we  were  not  strenuous,  we  were  not  com- 
mitted to  any  particular  scheme.  All  we  wished  was  to  secure 
such  action  on  the  part  of  Congress  and  the  Executive  as  would 
satisfy  the  country,  —  such  action  as  would  give  the  country 
peace." 

The  Committee  had  a  conference  with  members  of  Con- 
gress from  the  border  States,  where  a  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple were  still  loyal,  and  hoping  for  some  compromise ;  and 
next  the  Committee  met  sixty  or  seventy  of  the  Republi- 
can members  of  the  Senate  and  the  House,  and  endeav- 
ored to  impress  upon  them  the  importance  of  early  and 
conciliatory  action.  At  this  friendly  council  Mr.  Dodge 
spoke  at  length.  A  Washington  paper  gives  the  following 
report :  — 

"  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  whose  name  has  been  so  long  and 
honorably  associated  with  the  mercantile  fame  of  New  York,  said 
that  after  coming  here  the  Committee  realized  that  they  had  under- 
taken a  most  difficult  and  embarrassing  office.  They  had  almost 
felt,  in  the  great  variety  of  opinions  expressed,  and  the  slight  feel- 
ing of  unanimity  existing  here,  that  their  mission  was  a  hopeless 
one.  But  when  we  go  back  upon  the  avenues  of  commerce  and 


76  PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC. 

of  trade,  upon  Wall  Street  and  upon  'Change,  our  fellow-citizens 
will  meet  us  at  every  turn  with  the  anxious  inquiry, '  What  news  do 
you  bring  us  ?  Is  there  any  hope  ?  '  and  we  fear  by  our  uncertain 
replies  we  shall  only  add  to  the  gloom  which  already  darkens  our 
homes.  After  a  long  night's  sleepless  and  intense  thought,  he 
had  resolved  to  counsel  friends  of  the  Committee  to  hold  a  con- 
sultation, first  with  the  members  of  Congress  from  the  border 
Southern  States,  to  ascertain  what  they  actually  want  and  desire, 
and  next  to  consult  with  the  Republican  members,  to  discover 
whether  they  are  willing  to  meet  the  border  representatives  fairly, 
and  to  declare  that  they  have  done  all  that  can  be  done.  '  We 
have  done  so,  and  we  are  here  to  know  what  response  you  are 
willing  to  make  to  the  forty  thousand  citizens  of  New  York  whom 
we  represent.  Some  of  our  friends  who  have  visited  Washington 
have  told  us  that  nothing  can  be  done  ;  that  the  Republican  mem- 
bers cannot  possibly  bend  from  their  position.'  He  assured  them 
that  in  the  bosom  of  the  signers  of  that  monster  petition  there  ex- 
isted the  highest  patriotism,  the  most  devoted  love  of  the  Union. 
It  was  well  known  and  recognized  by  every  man  at  the  North 
that  if  we  had  only  had  the  proper  courage  and  determination 
at  the  head  of  the  Government  when  the  trouble  first  began,  we 
should  not  now  have  to  deplore  the  present  calamitous  crisis.  He 
illustrated,  by  a  beautiful  and  striking  figure,  taken  from  the  burn- 
ing of  a  house,  the  gradual  process  of  secession.  First,  the  people 
did  not  believe  any  State  would  go.  South  Carolina  went,  and 
people  said, '  That  will  be  all ; '  let  her  go.  Then  Georgia,  Alabama, 
and  the  others  followed  in  rapid  succession ;  and  the  danger  is  now 
that  the  whole  fifteen  may  also  go.  So,  said  the  speaker,  the  edi- 
fice —  a  glorious  edifice  too  —  takes  fire.  Two  parties  of  firemen 
stand  on  either  side  with  folded  arms  and  speculate  on  the  prob- 
able progress  of  the  flames.  One  party  says,  '  Why,  it  is  beginning 
to  catch  the  shingles ;  but  it  won't  go  any  farther.'  Soon  the  roof 
falls  in,  and  the  other  party  says,  'Why  don't  you  put  on  the  water?' 
The  reply  comes  back,  '  The  roof  isn't  of  any  account ;  better  let 
it  go :  the  fire  won't  go  any  farther  ! '  And  still  not  a  drop  of 
water  goes  to  stay  the  conflagration.  Story  after  story  burns,  and 
the  danger  is  that  not  even  a  beam  or  timber  may  remain  to 
indicate  the  spot  where  the  noble  edifice  stood. 

"  He  referred  to  the  question  of  tariff,  and  declared  that  if  all 


PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC.  77 

the  fifteen  Slave  States  should  go  together  into  a  separate  confeder- 
acy, and  open  their  ports  to  free  trade,  a  cry  would  come  up  from 
the  North  and  West  greater  and  louder  in  favor  of  free  trade  than 
ever  was  raised  for  a  tariff.  Meantime,  until  the  laws  of  trade  could 
adjust  themselves,  all  our  vast  interests  must  be  completely  par- 
alyzed. Shall  we,  the  speaker  eloquently  asked,  stand  upon  a 
platform  made  some  time  ago  in  view  of  facts  which  then  existed, 
and  which  have  ceased  to  exist  now,  or  shall  we  be  willing  to  make 
an  advance,  and  yield  some  fair  concession  without  any  sacrifice 
of  principle?" 

No  permanent  impression,  however,  resulted  from  the 
labors  of  this  Committee.  Events  were  swiftly  passing 
beyond  the  control  of  Congress,  conferences,  or  mem- 
orials. The  election  to  the  Presidency  of  a  Republican 
candidate  was  regarded  by  the  South  as  a  fresh  mark  of 
hostility.  Every  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  North  to  ne- 
gotiate or  compromise  only  made  the  South  more  confi- 
dent and  aggressive.  State  after  State  seceded.  Property, 
forts,  and  munitions  of  war  belonging  to  the  General  Gov- 
ernment were  defiantly  seized.  The  growing  antagonism 
of  long  years  had  reached  the  last  stage  of  endurance ; 
there  was  only  needed  the  fatal  firing  upon  Sumter  to 
precipitate  the  inevitable  conflict.  And  yet  before  the  last 
hour  struck,  before  every  hope  of  adjustment  must  be 
abandoned,  one  final  effort  was  to  be  made.  In  this  also 
Mr.  Dodge  had  a  share. 

Upon  the  invitation  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  the  Peace 
Congress,  as  it  was  afterwards  called,  assembled  in  Wash- 
ington, February  4,  1861.  Twenty-one  States  were  repre- 
sented, —  fourteen  Free,  and  seven  Slave.  Mr.  Dodge  was 
one  of  the  ten  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Legislature 
of  New  York.  In  accepting  the  invitation  of  Virginia,  the 
Free  States  generally  affirmed  their  desire  for  an  Honor- 
able and  fraternal  solution  of  the  questions  at  issue,  but 
distinctly  declared  their  unwillingness  to  accede  to  the 
propositions  submitted  in  the  call.  Some  of  the  States 


78  PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC. 

* 

pronounced  in  favor  of  amendments  to  the  Constitution; 
others  held  that  ample  provisions  already  existed. 

The  delegates  came  together  with  views  widely  diverse, 
and  at  a  time  when  public  sentiment  was  inflamed  to  a  de- 
gree that  made  calm  deliberation  seem  impossible.  Wash- 
ington, where  the  conference  sat,  was  the  very  centre  of 
heated  discussion.  Congress  was  in  session,  anxiously 
debating  propositions  for  compromise  and  concession. 
Southern  senators  and  representatives  were  vacating  their 
seats  after  making  demands  or  uttering  sentiments  that 
could  not  fail  to  exasperate  the  North.  A  President  was 
about  to  retire  whose  weakness  had  made  secession  pos- 
sible, and  another  stood  ready  to  take  the  oath  of  office 
whose  inauguration  might  be  the  signal  for  still  fiercer 
agitation  or  even  immediate  outbreak. 

During  three  weeks  of  often  prolonged  sessions  the 
Conference  with  closed  doors  strove  to  find  some  basis  of 
agreement.  Mr.  Dodge  took  an  active  part  in  the  consul- 
tations of  his  own  delegation,  and  at  times  addressed  the 
Convention  itself.  He  was  not  only  animated  with  the 
conservative  and  conciliatory  sentiment  still  largely  preva- 
lent in  the  North,  but  he  represented  the  cautious  spirit  of 
commerce.  He  came  directly  from  the  chief  centre  of 
trade,  and  spoke  for  merchants  who  had  vast  interests  at 
stake,  and  were  painfully  alive  to  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences involved  in  civil  strife  and  a  divided  country; 
hence  his  views  were  chiefly  from  the  commercial  stand- 
point, and  his  efforts  were  all  for  honorable  concession  and 
prompt  adjustment.  In  the  voting  of  the  New  York  dele- 
gation there  were  frequent  divisions,  and  Mr.  Dodge  usually 
acted  with  the  more  conservative  minority.  In  the  course 
of  his  remarks  before  the  Conference  (February  20),  he 
says :  — 

"  In  the  delegation  to  which  I  belong  I  find  many  shades  of 
opinion.  I  respect  the  views  of  my  brother  delegates.  It  is  not 
for  me  to  assume  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  them.  I  give  each  of 


PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC.  79 

them  credit  for  the  same  honesty  and  integrity  which  I  claim  for 
myself;  and  if  I  happen  to  differ  from  them,  I  hold  that  such 
divergence  naturally  arises  from  the  different  paths  of  life  we  pur- 
sue, and  which  may  lead  us  to  take  opposite  views  of  the  same 
subject.  The  Conference  has  listened  to  the  arguments  of  political 
and  professional  men  ;  will  you  now  hear  a  few  words  from  those 
who  have  hitherto  been  silent  here,  but  who  have  a  deep  and  abid- 
ing interest  in  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  country  and  in 
the  preservation  and  perpetuity  of  the  American  Union  ? 

"  I  speak  to  you  as  a  business  man,  a  merchant  of  New  York. 
Words  cannot  describe  the  stagnation  which  has  now  settled  down 
upon  the  business  and  commerce  of  that  great  city,  caused  solely 
by  the  uncertain  condition  of  the  questions  we  are  here  endeavoring 
to  settle. 

"  Had  not  Divine  Providence  poured  out  its  blessings -upon  the 
West  in  an  abundant  harvest,  and  at  the  same  time  opened  in 
foreign  lands  a  new  market  for  that  harvest,  bringing  it  through 
New  York  in  transit,  our  city  would  now  present  the  silence  of  the 
Sabbath.  In  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston,  mer- 
chants are  not  ordinarily  listless  and  unenterprising.  They  are 
accustomed  to  the  bustle,  the  excitement,  the  responsibilities  of 
trade.  Hitherto  they  have  seen  their  places  of  business  crowded 
with  buyers.  Not  infrequently  their  clerks  have  had  to  labor  by 
night  to  select  and  send  off  goods  sold  during  the  day.  When 
business  is  good  and  driving,  wealth  and  comfort  are  not  only  se- 
cured to  the  merchants  and  dealers  in  the  great  cities,  but  general 
prosperity  is  indicated  in  the  districts  to  which  the  goods  are  trans- 
mitted. How  is  it  to-day  ?  Go  to  the  vast  establishments  of  these 
commercial  cities.  The  spring  trade  should  be  just  commencing. 
What  will  you  see?  The  heavy  stocks  of  goods,  imported  last 
autumn  or  laid  in  from  our  own  manufactories,  remain  upon  the 
shelves  untouched.  No  customers  are  there,  or  the  few  who  do 
come  are  there,  not  as  buyers,  but  as  debtors  seeking  to  arrange 
for  extensions.  The  merchants  in  despair  are  poring  over  their 
ledgers,  checking  off  the  names  of  insolvent  customers ;  and  each 
day's  mail  increases  the  list.  Clerks  sit  round  in  idleness,  reading 
the  newspapers,  or  thinking  of  wives  and  children  at  home,  who  if 
they  are  discharged  will  go  unclad  and  hungry.  All  alike,  em- 
ployers and  employed,  are  looking  anxiously — I  wish  I  could  say 


8O  PUBLIC  AND   PATRIOTIC. 

hopefully  —  to  Congress  or  to  this  Conference  as  the  source  from 
which  help  may  come.  Tens  of  thousands  of  this  class  all  over  the 
country  must  in  some  way  have  relief,  or  their  ruin  is  inevitable. 
The  same  is  true  of  that  other  class,  numerically  larger,  and  cer- 
tainly not  less  worthy  our  regard,  —  the  mechanics  and  day-laborers, 
and  all  dependent  upon  them.  If  something  is  not  done  to  start 
again  the  wheels  of  commerce  and  trade,  what  is  to  become  of 
them?  And  New  England,  lately  the  workshop  of  the  South  and 
the  West,  and  growing  rich  by  the  traffic,  what  is  her  condition 
to-day?  The  noise  of  the  loom,  the  rattle  of  the  shuttle,  have 
ceased  in  many  of  her  factories,  while  others  are  gradually  dis- 
charging their  operatives  and  closing  their  business.  No  one  ac- 
quainted with  the  facts  will  deny  that  the  whole  land  is  on  the  eve 
of  a  disastrous  financial  crisis  unless  we  can  do  something  to  avert 
it.  What  is  it  that  has  thus  arrested  the  ordinary  movements  of 
commerce  ?  What  has  driven  from  the  markets  of  the  North  cus- 
tomers once  so  welcome  ?  It  is  because  confidence  is  lost.  The 
North  misunderstands  the  South ;  the  South  misunderstands  the 
North.  I  am  not  here  to  discuss  constitutional  questions,  —  that 
belongs  to  gentlemen  of  the  legal  profession ;  I  am  here  as  a 
merchant.  I  venerate  the  Constitution  and  its  authors  as  highly 
as  any  member  present ;  but  I  do  not  venerate  it  so  highly  as  to 
induce  me  to  witness  the  destruction  of  the  Government  rather 
than  see  the  Constitution  amended  or  improved.  I  know  the 
people  of  this  country.  They  value  the  Union ;  they  will  make 
any  sacrifice  to  save  it.  They  will  disregard  politics  and  parties, 
they  will  cast  platforms  to  the  winds,  before  they  will  imperil 
the  Union. 

"  I  regret,  Mr.  President,  that  the  gentlemen  composing  the 
committee  did  not  approach  these  questions  more  in  the  manner 
of  business  men.  We  should  not  have  sacrificed  our  principles, 
but  we  should  have  agreed.  We  should  have  brought  our  minds 
together  as  far  as  we  could,  —  have  left  open  as  few  questions  as 
possible,  and  these  we  should  have  arranged  by  mutual  concessions. 
I  love  my  country  and  its  Government;  my  heart  is  filled  with 
sorrow  at  the  dangers  threatening  it.  I  came  here  for  peace  ;  the 
country  longs  for  peace ;  and  if  the  proposed  amendments  now 
presented  will  give  us  peace,  my  prayer  is  that  they  may  be 
adopted." 


PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC.  8 1 

These  amendments  recommended  substantially  the  res- 
toration of  the  line  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  —  that  no 
further  territory  should  be  acquired  except  by  consent  of 
a  majority  of  senators  from  the  Slave  States  and  a  majority 
from  the  Free  States;  that  slavery  should  not  be  inter- 
fered with  in  any  State  or  Territory  where  it  was  estab- 
lished or  recognized ;  that  fugitive  slaves  should  be  liable 
to  seizure  anywhere,  and  if  recapture  were  prevented  by 
violence,  the  value  of  the  slave  to  be  paid  from  the 
national  treasury;  and  that  the  foreign  slave-trade  be 
forever  prohibited. 

Although  the  terms  of  this  proposed  settlement  did  not 
fully  meet  Mr.  Dodge's  approval,  he  was  willing  to  vote 
for  it,  with  the  hope  of  escaping  what  he  believed  to 
be  immediate  and  greater  evils.  Slavery,  the  root  of  all 
the  political  difficulty,  might  be  removed  at  some  future 
day  without  bloodshed  and  without  endangering  the 
Union. 

The  amendments,  however,  met  no  general  response. 
Though  so  favorable  to  slavery,  they  did  not  satisfy  the 
Border  States,  much  less  those  which  had  already  seceded. 
Nor  were  they  acceptable  to  the  North.  The  Senate 
would  not  concur  in  them,  and  the  House  took  no  con- 
clusive action  whatever.  The  day  for  reconciliation  by 
resolutions  was  passed. 

During  the  sessions  of  the  Peace  Congress,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dodge  occupied  rooms  at  Willard's  Hotel.  Their 
apartment  happened  to  be  one  of  the  most  desirable  in  the 
house.  Late  one  evening  the  proprietor  came  and  begged 
them  to  relinquish  their  rooms  in  favor  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  who 
was  suddenly  expected,  having  consented,  at  the  entreaty 
of  friends,  to  enter  the  city  secretly  by  a  night  train.  This 
course  was  deemed  indispensable  for  Mr.  Lincoln's  safety,  as 
there  was  reason  to  believe  that  the  mob  in  Baltimore  was 
to  be  incited  to  violence  on  his  anticipated  passage  through 
that  city.  The  next  morning,  before  Mr.  Dodge  was  fully 

6 


82  PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC. 

dressed,  the  younger  son  of  Mr.  Lincoln  knocked  at  the 
door  of  the  apartment  to  which  they  had  removed,  and  said 
that  his  father  was  anxious  to  have  an  interview  with  him. 
On  joining  the  President-elect,  Mr.  Dodge  found  him  busy 
over  his  inaugural  address ;  but  this  was  at  once  thrown 
aside,  that  inquiries  might  be  made  respecting  the  prog- 
ress and  probable  results  of  the  discussions  at  the  Peace 
Conference,  then  nearly  ready  to  close  its  sittings.  After 
a  lengthened  conversation,  as  Mr.  Dodge  arose  to  go,  he 
said :  "  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  prayers  of  many  hearts  were  with 
you  before  you  started  upon  this  journey,  they  accompanied 
you  all  the  way  here,  and  they  will  follow  you  as  you  enter 
upon  your  administration."  Tears  filled  Mr.  Lincoln's 
eyes,  and  grasping  both  of  Mr.  Dodge's  hands,  he  replied, 
with  deep  emotion,  "  Thank  you,  thank  you."  That  even- 
ing Mr.  Lincoln  gave  a  public  and  cordial  reception  to  all 
the  delegates  of  the  Conference.  In  subsequent  days  he 
consulted  with  Mr.  Dodge  more  than  once  in  regard  to 
public  affairs. 

The  last  hope  of  averting  the  conflict  having  failed,  Mr. 
Dodge  as  promptly  and  strenuously  turned  to  the  supreme 
duty  of  the  hour.  The  Government  must  be  sustained; 
the  Union  must  be  preserved. 

At  the  tidings  of  the  firing  upon  Sumter,  April  12, 
which  so  instantaneously  aroused  the  entire  North  to 
a  passionate  purpose  to  uphold  the  national  honor,  Mr. 
Dodge's  firm  was  among  the  first  to  subscribe  to  a  fund 
for  the  Union  cause.  It  also  aided  in  supplying  the  means 
for  the  immediate  despatch  of  the  New  York  Seventh 
Regiment  to  protect  the  city  of  Washington. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  held  April 
19,  Mr.  Dodge  submitted  a  resolution  that  "  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  receive  subscriptions  for  the  benefit  of 
regiments  now  in  preparation  for  departure  to  the  South." 
Mr.  Dodge  was  made  chairman ;  and  this  Committee,  a 
few  days  later,  by  authority  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 


PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC.  83 

united   with   the  Union  Defence    Committee,   which   was 
appointed  at  a  mass  meeting  of  citizens  April  20. 

The  City  Government,  by  special  ordinance,  placed  a 
large  sum  ($1,000,000)  in  the  hands  of  this  General  Com- 
mittee. In  the  interest  of  this  organization  Mr.  Dodge 
went,  early  in  May,  to  Philadelphia  and  Washington. 
The  letter  requesting  him  to  undertake  this  mission  states 
that,  — 

"  The  Executive  Committee  have  deemed  it  an  object  of  im- 
portance to  communicate  confidentially  with  friends  of  the  country 
on  questions  affecting  the  public  welfare,  and  are  desirous  to  have 
the  advantage  of  your  presence  at  these  cities.  The  subjects  likely 
to  come  before  you  are  of  a  character  at  once  important,  pressing, 
and  delicate.  No  definite  instructions  can  be  given  in  writing. 
You  have  been  present  at  the  discussions  of  the  Committee  in 
reference  to  the  object  of  your  mission,  and  are  therefore  possessed 
of  the  general  views  they  entertain,  and  which  are  believed  to  be 
in  accordance  with  your  own.  Relying  on  your  intelligence  and 
discretion,  the  Committee  cheerfully  commit  to  your  management 
the  questions  which  may  be  brought  before  you." 

At  Philadelphia  he  met  a  special  agent,  who  was  in  com- 
munication with  parties  at  different  points.  One  report 
mentions  indications  of  a  movement  in  Richmond  opposed 
to  the  secession  leaders  and  in  favor  of  the  Union.  Pro- 
ceeding to  Washington,  he  writes  to  his  wife,  May  3, 
1861  :  — 

"  I  have  been  twenty-four  hours  coming  from  Philadelphia,  via 
Parrysville  and  Annapolis,  in  the  Government  train,  all  under 
martial  law.  My  '  pass '  was  vis£d  four  times,  quite  in  the  Euro- 
pean style.  This  city  is  full  of  soldiers  at  every  turn.  I  am  to 
meet  Mr.  Lincoln  by  appointment  this  afternoon,  and  have  had 
already  to-day  a  long  interview  with  the  Secretary  of  War." 

During  the  month  of  May  also  he  attended  the  eighth 
anniversary  of  the  American  Congregational  Union.  The 
absorbing  topic  of  the  occasion  was  the  state  of  the  coun- 


84  PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC. 

try,  and  Mr.  Dodge  made  an  earnest  and  patriotic  appeal 
in  support  of  the  Government. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  so  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  prompt 
and  adequate  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  military  authorities 
that  he  wrote,  May  10,  1861,  to  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
Major-General  Winfield  Scott :  — 

"  Permit  me  to  say  that  I  fear  we  are  not  sufficiently  alive  to  the 
extent  of  the  preparations  making  by  the  South.  Since  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you,  one  of  my  partners  has  returned  from  New 
Orleans.  He  passed  through  all  the  States  south,  and  informs  me 
that  in  every  direction  troops  are  moving  east.  He  saw  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  leave  Mobile  in  one  day,  all  well  armed  and 
equipped,  many  of  them  at  the  expense  of  the  merchants,  some  of 
whom  had  subscribed  fifteen  thousand  dollars  each  for  that  pur- 
pose. Last  week  he  passed  up  the  river  to  Memphis.  There  were 
six  hundred  troops  on  the  boat,  said  to  be  for  operating  on  Cairo. 
He  remained  there  for  a  day,  and  took  another  boat,  also  full  of 
soldiers,  who  were  left  twenty  miles  below  Cairo.  After  landing 
passengers  at  that  city,  the  boat  proceeded  twenty  miles  farther 
up  the  river,  and  then  stopped  to  put  on  shore  seventy  other  men, 
who  had  been  concealed  before.  My  partner  is  convinced  that 
more  men  and  means  are  ready  at  the  South  than  is  generally  sup- 
posed here.  One  of  my  sons  has  also  visited  New  Orleans,  Mobile, 
Montgomery,  Savannah,  Charleston,  and  Richmond  within  a  few 
days,  and  he  believes  we  are  not  at  all  awake  to  the  vast  efforts 
making  at  the  South,  and  the  large  number  of  troops  coming  east. 
On  my  way  home  from  Washington  I  met  several  very  intelligent 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  escaping  from  the  South.  They  all  unite 
in  the  conviction  that  there  are  more  soldiers  in  the  field  than  we 
have  any  idea  of.  This  direct  testimony  from  different  sources 
leads  me  to  suggest  that  as  there  are  so  many  of  our  own  troops 
now  ready,  you  would  perhaps  think  best  to  have  them  moving 
forward  at  once." 

Feb.  3,  1862,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Hon. 
E.  M.  Stanton :  — 

"  I  trust  you  will  appreciate  my  motives  and  pardon  the  liberty 
I  take  in  calling  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  letters  received  by 


PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC.  85 

late  arrivals  from  my  partner  in  England,  and  from  two  valued 
friends  in  Paris,  all  go  to  show  the  deep  impression  existing  there 
of  the  danger  of  English  and  French  interference  in  favor  of  the 
South  at  an  early  day,  and  the  conviction  that  nothing  can  prevent 
it  but  some  decisive  action  on  the  part  of  the  North,  —  such  a 
manifestation  of  ability  to  subdue  the  South  as  would  result  from 
a  victory  by  sea  or  land,  and  such  as  is  expected  from  our  immense 
forces.  I  know  the  difficulties  that  have  prevented  the  forward 
movement  of  our  Grand  Army.  I  am  not  one  of  the  '  On  to 
Richmond '  party,  nor  would  I  venture  to  urge  a  movement  in  any 
quarter,  but  for  the  fear  that  delay  may  induce  action  by  England 
and  France  that  will  render  all  we  have  yet  done  by  way  of  prepa- 
ration of  little  value.  My  correspondent  in  France,  who  has  done 
more  perhaps  than  any  one  abroad  to  give  correct  views  of  our 
struggle,  and  who  has  expended  several  thousand  dollars,  sent  him 
by  a  few  of  us  merchants,  in  printing  and  distributing  documents, 
says :  '  I  repeat  the  urgent  appeal  for  fortifications  at  Portland, 
Boston,  New  York,  and  Newport.  A  French  engineer,  just  re- 
turned, has  reported  to  the  Government  that  Newport,  R.  I.,  is  the 
most  important  harbor  in  the  country,  and  should  be  the  first 
seized  in  case  of  war  between  France  and  America ; '  and  he  adds  : 
'  If  you  do  not  beat  the  Rebels  in  some  great  battle  before  spring, 
you  may  rely  on  an  intervention  to  open  the  blockade  of  the 
Southern  ports.'  There  is  a  growing  fear  among  our  merchants 
that  unless  we  move  very  soon  South  or  West,  we  shall  never  have 
an  opportunity ;  and  since  the  settlement  of  the  '  Trent '  affair,  our 
merchants  have  been  afraid  to  undertake  long  voyages  for  their 
ships,  in  view  of  the  risk  of  English  interference  which  will  bring 
on  war  with  that  country. 

"  Excuse  this  letter,  and  do  not  think  of  me  as  one  of  the  fault- 
finders, for  I  have  no  sympathy  with  them." 

As  troops  in  increasing  numbers  were  hurried  to  the  seat 
of  war,  various  forms  of  effort  sprang  up  for  their  physical 
or  spiritual  welfare.  To  this  work  Mr.  Dodge  gave  cordial 
support.  He  early  assisted  in  sending  religious  papers, 
hymn-books,  and  other  reading  to  the  soldiers.  His  eldest 
son,  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  which  aimed  to  supply  special  wants 


86  PUBLIC   AND   PATRIOTIC. 

of  the  troops,  in  camp  or  on  the  field,  not  fully  met  by 
the  regulations  or  agencies  of  the  Government.  This  son 
also,  with  two  friends,  originated  and  carried  out  an  army 
allotment  system,  by  which  soldiers  were  enabled  to  make 
provision  for  their  families  by  sending  back  through  offi- 
cial channels  a  portion  of  their  monthly  pay.  Mr.  Dodge 
himself  was  specially  associated  with  the  Christian  Com- 
mission, being  chairman  of  the  New  York  branch.  This 
Commission  chiefly  sought  to  care  for  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious necessities  of  the  armies,  although  its  delegates  and 
resources  were  also  unceasingly  and  unstintedly  employed 
in  ministering  to  the  sick  and  wounded.  This  work  was 
the  very  embodiment  of  the  teachings  of  the  Gospel.  No 
adequate  estimate  can  ever  be  formed  of  the  blessings  con- 
ferred upon  the  soldiers  and  sailors  and  their  families  by 
these  benevolent  agencies,  nor  the  extent  and  potency  of 
the  reflex  influence  upon  the  people  at  large. 


CHAPTER     VI. 

VISIT  TO   FORTRESS   MONROE. —  RIOT  OF   1863. -AD- 
DRESS  AT   BALTIMORE. 

IN  March,  1862,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge  visited  Fortress 
Monroe,  Va.,  to  see  their  son,  Major  Charles  C.  Dodge 
(afterwards  brigadier-general),  who  at  the  time  was  sta- 
tioned there  with  his  regiment,  the  New  York  Mounted 
Rifles.  Here  they  witnessed  (March  8)  the  memorable 
engagement  between  the  Rebel  steamer  '  Merrimac '  and 
the  little  '  Monitor,'  the  first  of  the  now  famous  revolv- 
ing-turret vessels  of  war.  A  public  reception  was  after- 
wards given,  in  the  Academy  of  Music,  New  York,  to  the 
survivors  of  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  '  Cumberland  '  and 
the  '  Congress,'  two  United  States  frigates  sunk  in  that  naval 
battle.  Mr.  Dodge  gave  the  parting  address  to  the  sailors. 
He  said :  — 

"  I  feel  a  special  interest  in  you  all,  for  we  have  met  before.  I 
saw  you  the  day  after  the  engagement,  when  you  came  from  your 
destroyed  ships,  looking  very  different  from  your  appearance  this 
evening. 

"  Never  can  I  forget  that  Saturday  when  it  was  announced  that 
the  '  Merrimac '  had  passed  Sewell's  Point  and  was  making  her  way 
to  Newport  News.  I  was  with  General  Wool  at  his  headquarters. 
Soon  the  telegraph  told  that  she  had  engaged  the  '  Congress,'  then 
the  '  Cumberland,'  and  then  that  the  latter  was  sinking,  with  all 
on  board  !  In  less  than  an  hour  came  the  astounding  tidings  that 
the  '  Congress  '  had  been  compelled  to  surrender  !  All  expected  the 
victorious  ironclad  would  next  attack  the  '  Minnesota,'  —  another 
wooden  ship,  —  aground  not  far  distant ;  but  the  Rebel  steamer 
moved  off,  disabled  somewhat  —  as  we  now  know  —  by  your  last 
shots.  That  evening,  when  word  went  round  that  the  '  Monitor ' 


88  VISIT   TO   FORTRESS   MONROE. 

had  arrived,  the  air  rang  with  shouts,  and  men  who  seldom  ac- 
knowledge Divine  interference  were  saying,  '  How  providential ! ' 

"  Sunday  morning  early,  the  '  Merrimac '  was  seen  advancing  to- 
wards the  '  Minnesota,'  near  which  the  '  Monitor '  had  remained  all 
night,  and  from  which  she  promptly  moved  out  to  meet  her  enemy. 
Firing  began,  and  for  more  than  an  hour  the  two  vessels  manoeu- 
vred back  and  forth,  pouring  their  shots  into  each  other  as  they 
passed,  but  with  no  apparent  effect.  At  last  the  '  Merrimac  '  ran 
directly  for  the  diminutive  craft,  and  drove  its  ram  up  on  to  the 
'  Monitor's '  deck,  both  vessels  in  this  close  position  rapidly  dis- 
charging their  guns.  It  was  an  exciting  moment !  Soon  the 
'  Merrimac  '  backed  slowly  off,  and  the  report  spread  that  she  was 
sinking !  Then  from  that  old  fortress  what  a  deafening  shout 
went  up  !  But  at  last  two  Confederate  gunboats  hastened  to  the 
disabled  ship  and  towed  her  away. 

"  I  want  to  say  to  these  noble  men  who  took  part  in  that  en- 
gagement, some  of  you  just  escaping  with  your  lives  as  the  '  Cum- 
berland '  went  down :  Look  at  this  splendid  audience,  all  gaz- 
ing upon  you  and  longing  to  do  you  honor.  Never  forget,  when 
again  you  go  to  sea  in  your  country's  cause,  how  many  thousands 
are  still  watching  you  !  Never  think  you  are  forgotten  ;  stand  by 
the  old  flag  as  you  have  already  done.  This  naval  battle,  in  which 
you  have  shared,  will  be  part  of  our  nation's  history,  and  your 
gallant  conduct  will  be  known  all  over  the  world.  May  every 
blessing  follow  you,  and  may  you  all  at  last  cast  anchor  in  the 
haven  of  eternal  rest ! " 

A  few  days  after  the  engagement  at  Hampton  Roads  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  appointed  a  committee  —  of  which 
Mr.  Dodge  was  a  member  —  to  secure  contributions  for 
the  immediate  construction  of  ironclads  or  vessels  similar 
to  the  '  Monitor,'  for  the  defence  of  the  city  and  its  ap- 
proaches. Mr.  Dodge  afterwards  became  chairman  of  the 
Standing  Committee  of  the  Chamber  on  Harbor  Defences. 
In  July,  1862,  this  body  also  passed  resolutions  reaffirm- 
ing its  previous  expressions  of  loyalty,  and  establishing 
a  committee  —  upon  which  Mr.  Dodge  served  —  to  unite 
with  other  bodies  of  citizens  in  recommending  measures 


RIOT  OF   1863.  89 

to  give  increased  efficiency  to  the  military  and  naval 
power  of  the  Government. 

Early  in  1863  there  were  indications  of  popular  impa- 
tience and  discouragement  respecting  the  conduct  and 
prospects  of  the  war,  and  many  felt  that  serious  mistakes 
had  been  made.  Gold  and  exchange  had  risen  to  an  unpre- 
cedented figure.  Fears  were  entertained  that  the  Govern- 
ment could  not  obtain  means  to  meet  its  enormous  daily 
expenses.  At  the  commercial  centres  demoralization  was 
evident  Secret  or  open  enemies  in  many  places  at  the 
North  were  crying  out  that  the  struggle  was  a  failure. 

Loyal  men  saw  the  need  of  fresh  exertion  and  a  re- 
newed appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people  at  large.  A 
Loyal  National  League  was  formed,  with  a  council  of 
twenty-five  members,  Mr.  Dodge  being  one.  The  object 
of  the  organization  was  to  unite  loyal  men  of  every  class. 
Its  pledge  demanded  "  unconditional  loyalty  to  the  Gov- 
ernment; unwavering  support  in  efforts  to  suppress  the 
rebellion  and  maintain  unimpaired  the  national  unity,  both 
in  principle  and  territorial  boundary."  Associate  leagues 
were  to  be  organized  in  every  ward  of  the  city,  and 
throughout  the  State  and  country.  A  great  gathering 
was  held  at  the  Cooper  Union,  March  20,  and  a  few 
days  afterwards  an  open-air  meeting  on  Union  Square, 
where  Mr.  Dodge  presided  at  one  of  the  stands.  Subse- 
quently he  became  a  member  of  the  Union  League  Club, 
which  originated  at  nearly  the  same  date  as  the  Loyal 
National  League,  and  advocated  the  same  patriotic  prin- 
ciples, but  with  the  more  distinct  purpose  of  influencing  the 
higher  social  circles.  It  also  rendered  effective  service  in 
the  enlistment  of  troops,  in  directing  and  elevating  public 
sentiment  on  the  issues  of  the  war,  and  in  strengthening 
by  other  means  the  hands  of  the  Government. 

In  July  of  this  year  (1863),  and  while  almost  the  entire 
body  of  city  militia  and  United  States  troops  ordinarily 
in  the  vicinity  were  at  the  seat  of  war,  serious  riots 


9O  RIOT   OF   1863. 

occurred  in  New  York.  The  alleged  cause  was  opposition 
to  the  draft;  but  the  violence  was  chiefly  directed  against 
the  colored  population,  many  of  whom  were  killed,  and  a 
large  number  wounded.  Several  private  dwellings  were 
pillaged,  a  Colored  Orphan  Asylum  was  destroyed,  and 
some  prominent  buildings  and  newspaper  offices  were 
threatened. 

Upon  the  first  outbreak,  a  meeting  of  citizens  was  gath- 
ered in  front  of  the  Sub-Treasury  steps  on  Wall  Street. 
Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of  the  speakers,  and  urged  the  neces- 
sity of  prompt  and  severe  measures  of  repression.  His 
remarks  were  published  in  the  papers ;  and  attracting  the 
attention  of  leaders  of  the  mob,  there  were  heard  intima- 
tions that  the  warehouse  in  Cliff  Street  would  be  attacked, 
and  also  his  residence  on  Murray  Hill,  as  well  as  his  coun- 
try house  at  Tarrytown,  where  a  large  body  of  Irish  were 
in  close  sympathy  with  the  rioters  in  the  city. 

The  vigorous  action  of  the  authorities,  reinforced  by 
the  personal  efforts  of  the  best  class  of  citizens,  finally 
quelled  the  disturbance.  It  was,  however,  skilfully  planned, 
and  formed  no  doubt  part  of  a  larger  scheme  to  check  en- 
listments, produce  extensive  damage,  and  increase  popular 
discontent  with  the  progress  of  the  war. 

In  February  of  this  year  Mr.  Dodge  assisted  the  vener- 
able General  Winfield  Scott  in  presiding  at  a  meeting  in 
the  New  York  Academy  of  Music  in  behalf  of  the  Christian 
Commission. 

The  year  following  (1864)  the  Society  held  a  similar 
meeting;  but  it  occurred  just  as  tidings  were  coming  of  the 
battles  then  being  fought  in  rapid  succession  in  the  Wil- 
derness during  General  Grant's  advance  upon  Richmond. 
The  occasion  filled  the  Academy  with  a  vast  audience. 
In  his  opening  address  as  chairman,  Mr.  Dodge  was  deeply 
moved.  He  said  :  — 

"  We  are  met  under  circumstances  few  anticipated.     Probably 
thousands  of  our  fellow-citizens  are  to-night  bleeding  and  dying, 


ADDRESS   AT   BALTIMORE.  91 

—  our  fathers,  our  brothers,  our  friends,  who  have  gone  out  in 
our  stead  to  breast  this  terrible  rebellion !  Ah  !  go  to  your  own 
home  !  See  that  beloved  one  on  a  bed  of  sickness  and  anguish  ! 
See  how  love,  tender,  compassionate  love,  watches  every  symptom ; 
how  the  physician  comes  and  goes ;  how  everything  is  done  to 
bring  relief !  Multiply  that  loved  one  by  all  that  are  in  this  house  ; 
then  multiply  it  again  ten  times  over.  They  are  not  lying  in  that 
comfortable  room,  on  that  soft  bed,  nursed  by  the  tenderest  care. 
They  are  out  on  the  field ;  they  are  down  along  the  road-side ; 
they  are  away  in  the  woods.  They  are  alone,  striving  to  stanch 
their  own  wounds ;  thirsting ;  looking,  calling  for  help,  —  dying  for 
us  !  And  now  we  are  here  to-night,  in  the  midst  of  our  own 
comforts  and  blessings,  to  ask  what  we  can  do  for  these  noble, 
suffering  men." 

Early  in  the  history  of  the  war  Mr.  Dodge  was  actively 
engaged  in  arming  the  Union  men  of  western  Virginia.  In 
1864,  at  a  meeting  of  citizens,  he  was  placed  upon  a  com- 
mittee to  solicit  and  transmit  assistance  to  the  destitute 
Unionists  of  East  Tennessee,  who  had  exhibited  heroic 
courage  and  loyalty  in  the  midst  of  extraordinary  sacri- 
fices. Mr.  Dodge  never  lost  his  interest  in  these  brave 
and  patient  people.  Their  college  at  Maryville  was  resusci- 
tated after  the  war,  partly  by  his  aid ;  and  it  continued  to 
receive  his  constant  sympathy  while  he  lived,  and  in  his 
will  he  left  it  a  liberal  bequest. 

During  this  year  also  (1864)  he  united  with  a  few  other 
patriotic  citizens  in  sending  copies  of  the  "  Rebellion  Rec- 
ord "  to  certain  of  the  public  libraries  in  Europe,  and  to 
influential  men  in  England  and  on  the  Continent  who  had 
given  expression  to  their  interest  in  the  national  struggle. 
It  was  believed  that  these  volumes  —  consisting  solely  of 
documentary  evidence,  from  all  sources,  both  Northern 
and  Southern  —  would  prove  valuable  to  future  historians, 
and  would  aid  candid  minds  in  reaching  just  conclusions 
upon  the  issues  involved. 

In  the  beginning  of  1865  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Balti- 


92 


ADDRESS  AT   BALTIMORE. 


more  found  itself  seriously  embarrassed  by  debt.  Many 
of  the  members  had  suffered  from  the  interruption  of  trade 
with  the  South,  and  others  had  withdrawn  on  account  of 
the  stanch  and  outspoken  loyalty  of  the  pastor.  A  course 
of  popular  lectures  was  undertaken  to  remove  the  debt, 
and  Mr.  Dodge  was  urged  to  become  one  of  the  speakers. 
His  prominence  in  business  and  religious  circles,  and  his 
vigorous  support  of  the  Government,  would,  it  was  thought, 
not  only  be  of  service  to  the  immediate  object,  but  also 
help  to  strengthen  the  growth  of  Union  sentiment  in  a  city 
which  had  manifested  marked  sympathy  for  secession. 
Mr.  Dodge  consented,  although  at  the  time,  in  addition  to 
his  ordinary  cares,  always  numerous  and  pressing,  he  was 
in  the  midst  of  a  wearisome  contest  for  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  He  took  for  his  subject  "  The 
Influence  of  the  War  upon  our  National  Prosperity."  A 
few  extracts  will  indicate  still  more  clearly  his  position  in 
regard  to  the  great  struggle,  and  also  the  comprehensive- 
ness and  accuracy  of  his  views  respecting  its  results.  He 
first  congratulated  his  hearers  that  they  were  assembled  in 
the  free  city  of  Baltimore,  and  that  Maryland  was  now 
forever  delivered  from  the  curse  of  slavery.  He  then 
proceeds :  — 

"  Until  this  war  began,  I  never  was  known  as  an  Abolitionist.  I 
was  not  indifferent  to  the  evils  of  human  bondage  ;  but  I  had  early 
identified  myself  with  the  Colonization  movement,  and  I  also  felt  it 
to  be  the  duty  of  the  North  sacredly  to  maintain  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  South.  It  was  with  these  sentiments  I  went,  in  January, 
1 86 1,  to  Washington  as  one  of  the  delegates  of  the  New  York 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  labored  there  to  save  the  country 
from  disunion.  With  the  same  feelings  I  entered  upon  my  duties 
in  the  Peace  Convention.  I  urged  upon  that  body  the  necessity, 
if  we  would  have  peace  and  unity,  of  securing  to  the  South  all  its 
constitutional  guarantees;  and  I  urged  upon  Southern  members 
their  obligation  to  yield  to  the  great  public  sentiment  of  the  country 
and  of  the  world,  and  agree  that  slavery  should  be  held  within  the 


ADDRESS   AT   BALTIMORE.  93 

bounds  named  in  the  Constitution.  But  all  such  efforts  failed. 
The  conflict  was  precipitated.  The  Constitution  was  trampled 
under  foot.  War,  with  all  its  unspeakable  miseries,  was  chosen  by 
the  South. 

"  I  have  never  ceased  to  feel  that  the  hand  of  Providence  was 
in  all  this,  that  while  individuals  were  none  the  less  guilty,  the 
same  wonderful  Power  that  can  bring  light  out  of  darkness  and 
make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,  would  bring  out  of  this  evil 
great  and  ultimate  good.  Nor,  when  we  speak  of  material  pro- 
sperity, do  we  forget  for  one  moment  the  blood,  the  tears,  this  war 
has  cost.  More  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  brave  men 
have  gone  out  from  among  us  and  met  a  cruel  death,  to  preserve 
our  inestimable  liberties  and  hand  them  down  to  posterity.  Let 
us  ever  cherish  their  memory,  and  feel  that,  under  God,  we  owe  to 
them  all  we  have  gained. 

"  At  the  first  outbreak  of  the  war  many  true  lovers  of  their 
country  doubted  whether  the  means  necessary  to  carry  it  on  could 
possibly  be  provided ;  and  when  the  Government  decided  to  issue 
a  national  currency — the  representative  of  coin,  and  a  legal  tender 
for  past  and  future  debts  —  it  was  an  untried  experiment.  Its  ex- 
pediency was  questioned.  Many  denounced  the  measure,  and 
bespoke  for  it  certain  failure.  If  you  go  back  to  the  winter  of 
1862-63  you  will  recollect  the  general  depression  over  the  land. 
There  was  want  of  public  confidence,  doubt  of  our  ability  to  con- 
tinue the  war ;  and  the  deep  dark  cloud  upon  our  finances  did  not 
give  way  until  the  amount  of  currency  thrown  into  the  volume  of 
circulation  had  begun  to  be  felt  in  the  increase  of  business.  The 
Government  well  knew  that  the  prices  of  material  for  the  war  would 
be  enhanced  and  the  debt  swollen  ;  but  they  saw  that  if  the  heart 
of  the  nation  —  the  great  manufacturing,  commercial,  and  agricul- 
tural interests  —  were  depressed,  the  struggle  could  not  be  main- 
tained. The  impetus  given  to  trade  helped  the  Government  to 
sell  its  bonds.  The  wisdom  of  its  policy  was  vindicated. 

"  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  a  remarkable  interposition  of 
Providence.  The  crops  in  1861,  1862,  and  1863,  particularly  in 
the  West,  were  unusually  abundant,  and  at  the  same  time  the  crops 
in  England  and  on  the  Continent  were  below  an  average.  For  ten 
years  previous  two  thirds  of  our  exports  consisted  of  cotton  ;  but 
this  was  now  entirely  out  of  our  hands.  How  could  the  amazing 


94  ADDRESS   AT   BALTIMORE. 

deficiency  be  met  ?  A  drought  in  England  and  Europe  in  1861 
and  1862  opened  foreign  ports  to  receive  in  those  two  years  a 
value  of  over  two  hundred  millions  of  the  products  of  our  soil. 
The  balance  of  trade  was  turned  in  our  favor,  and  in  those  years 
England  sent  us  more  than  sixty  millions  of  gold.  And  look  at 
the  variety  of  these  exports  !  To  mention  a  single  instance  :  The 
firm  with  which  I  am  connected  in  Liverpool  have  within  the  last 
three  years  received  and  paid  over  to  a  house  in  New  York  more 
than  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  sewing-machines  sold  for 
one  Company.  The  amount  for  '  Yankee  clocks '  has  not  been 
quite  as  much,  but  it  has  been  very  large ;  they  are  ticking  all 
over  England. 

"  But  there  are  those  who  still  continue  to  prophesy  ruin.  They 
look  around,  and  are  angry  because  the  country  refuses  to  be 
ruined.  See  what  great  interests  have  received  a  stimulus  from 
the  war.  Look,  for  example,  at  the  marvellous  development  of 
our  mineral  productions  during  the  past  four  years.  Our  coal,  iron, 
gold,  silver,  lead,  copper,  and  zinc  mines  have  attracted  attention 
never  before  known,  and  millions  have  been  invested  in  working 
them.  Our  coal  and  iron  industries  are  taking  a  position  that  will 
soon  make  us  independent  of  England.  Mining  and  other  com- 
panies and  undertakings  are  projected  constantly,  and  the  people 
have  the  money  to  take  hold  of  them.  Our  gigantic  war  debt 
swells  up  its  vast  proportions ;  and  yet,  by  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  our  land,  how  easily  we  handle  and  carry  it !  When  General 
Jackson,  as  President,  vetoed  the  old  United  States  Bank,  the 
whole  country  stood  aghast  at  the  prospect  of  twenty  millions 
being  withdrawn  from  circulation.  Now  we  take  a  loan  of  five 
hundred  millions  in  a  few  weeks,  —  three  millions  a  day  of  volun- 
tary subscription  to  Government  securities ;  and  not  by  the  wealthi- 
est class,  nor  mainly  by  banks  and  insurance  companies,  but  by  the 
people,  —  two  thousand  applications  daily,  in  sums  less  than  a 
hundred  dollars  !  Every  man  who  invests  his  money  in  this  way 
takes  hold  of  the  Government,  and  he  is  going  to  hold  on.  And 
still  those  who  all  through  the  war  were  saying,  '  We  cannot  get  the 
men  !  we  cannot  get  the  money  ! '  are  crying  out,  '  We  can  never 
pay  the  interest  on  our  great  debt ! ' 

"  The  kind  Providence  who  has  been  watching  over  us  and  pre- 
paring us  for  this  crisis,  schooling  us  in  the  art  of  agriculture  until 


ADDRESS  AT  BALTIMORE.  95 

the  fields  almost  plough  and  plant  themselves  and  gather  their  own 
crops,  —  the  same  beneficent  Hand  has  supplied  us  with  these  un- 
told deposits  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  production  of  gold  to-day 
is  reduced  to  a  science.  There  is  no  more  shaking  out  of  gold- 
dust  by  a  rude  '  pan.'  Quartz-crushing  mills,  with  immense  stone 
buildings  and  costly  machinery,  are  in  use  ;  and  though  at  present 
this  machinery  must  be  carried  long  distances  by  teams,  we  shall 
see  in  less  than  ten  years  railroads  ascending  the  slopes  of  those 
mountains,  and  passing  from  here  to  San  Francisco  right  alongside 
of  the  gold  and  silver  mines,  and  those  dreary  wastes  will  be  dotted 
with  villages  and  towns.  Another  as  remarkable  evidence  of  provi- 
dential care  is  to  be  found  in  the  wealth  which  has  suddenly  sprung 
up  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  where  it  has  apparently  been  kept 
for  ages  to  meet  this  crisis.  Already  petroleum  forms  a  large  item 
in  our  exports,  and  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  prominent 
interests  of  the  land. 

"  What  has  been  the  effect  of  the  war  upon  our  transportation 
system  ?  In  importance  railroads  stand  next  to  agriculture.  Take 
the  actual  increase  of  tonnage  on  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  three 
leading  railways,  the  Erie,  the  New  York  Central,  and  the  Penn- 
sylvania. We  shall  find,  in  four  years  up  to  1863,  an  advance  of 
nearly  fifty  per  cent.  The  passenger  traffic  on  most  of  our  rail- 
roads has  also  been  beyond  all  precedent.  The  statistics  of  trade 
centring  at  Chicago  alone  would  show  a  rate  of  progress  singularly 
instructive.  Or  see  what  emigration  has  done  for  us  since  the 
war  began,  —  eight  hundred  thousand  foreigners  have  come  to 
our  shores. 

"  These  years  have  also  brought  to  the  people,  as  a  mass,  a 
large  degree  of  prosperity.  They  are  generally  out  of  debt.  This 
has  extended  to  institutions.  Hundreds  of  churches,  burdened 
with  debt  when  the  war  began,  are  free  to-day.  The  amount  of 
endowments  to  public  and  literary  institutions  of  various  kinds  has 
been  unequalled  in  our  history.  Our  missionary  boards,  for  which 
so  many  trembled,  never  before  received  such  liberal  donations. 
Recall  also  the  millions  expended  through  the  Sanitary  and  the 
Christian  Commissions,  and  the  generous  provision  for  the  families 
of  the  soldiers. 

"  Yet  some  insist  we  are  to  have  a  great  revulsion.  I  do  not 
believe  it.  A  year  ago  gold  was  280.  To-day  it  is  180.  With 


96  ADDRESS  AT  BALTIMORE. 

the  continuance  of  military  success  it  will  gradually  decline,  and 
the  prices  of  labor  and  products  will  also  decline.  We  cannot  at 
once  return  to  a  specie  basis ;  but  when  the  war  ceases,  as  it  soon 
will,  we  shall  do  as  we  have  done  before,  —  adjust  ourselves  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  times.  As  soon  as  it  can  be  shown  that  we  can 
pay  the  interest  on  our  debt,  every  man  will  want  to  keep  his 
Government  bonds,  and  our  friends  across  the  water  will  also  be 
anxious  to  obtain  them.  Then  the  currency  will  slowly  be  ab- 
sorbed and  become  part  of  our  bonded  debt,  and  in  time  all  the 
Government  indebtedness  will  be  in  the  form  of  bonds.  Our 
State  and  national  banks  will  fill  up  the  vacuum  of  circulation,  and 
we  shall  return  to  specie  payments. 

"  Many  who  hear  me  will  live  to  see  the  trade  of  the  far 
East  coming  to  our  Western  coast.  Lines  of  steamers  will  make 
their  regular  trips  to  Japan,  China,  and  India,  and  their  cargoes  will 
cross  our  entire  continent  by  rail,  instead  of  going  around  the  capes. 

"  The  influence  of  the  war,  moreover,  will  advance  the  material 
interests  of  the  South  more  decidedly  than  those  of  the  North. 
The  South  will  become  equal  to  and  greater  than  before,  enjoying 
a  prosperity  it  could  never  have  attained  under  slavery.  The 
masses  there  cannot  but  be  stimulated  by  contact  with  the  enter- 
prise of  the  East  and  the  North,  which  will  now  be  attracted  to 
the  South.  Schools,  churches,  newspapers,  and  books,  will  be 
more  abundant.  The  children  of  the  poor  will  be  educated,  the 
people  will  be  elevated,  and  the  negroes  be  taught  to  read  and 
made  more  capable  of  intelligent  labor.  Manufactories  will  spring 
up,  and  a  general  and  unprecedented  prosperity  gradually  be 
enjoyed. 

"  With  the  blessing  of  God  upon  our  regenerated  and  united 
country,  we  may  anticipate  that  the  year  1885  shall  find  us  with  a 
population  of  sixty  millions,  stretching  in  unbroken  lines  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  himself  permitted  to  see  the  fulfilment 
of  some  of  these  prophecies,  and  to  have  a  personal  part 
in  carrying  them  out. 

This  address  was  published  at  the  request  of  the  church 
in  Baltimore,  and  found  its  way  into  the  hands  of  influen- 
tial men  in  this  country  and  abroad.  Mr.  Dodge  received 


ADDRESS  AT  BALTIMORE.  97 

letters  of  thanks  from  many  sources  for  his  timely,  conclu- 
sive, and  patriotic  presentation  of  facts. 

The  pastor  of  the  church  where  it  was  delivered,  the 
Rev.  H.  Dunning,  writes,  March  13,  1865  :  — 

"  It  was  a  very  decided  success  in  both  the  number  and  charac- 
ter of  the  audience,  which  was  composed  to  a  large  extent  of  men 
prominent  in  our  mercantile  community,  and  distinguished  for  their 
unshaken  loyalty  during  all  our  severe  trials. 

"  It  was  a  success  also  in  matter  and  manner.  Of  this  I  have 
heard  but  one  sentiment  expressed.  You  have  shown  us  the 
broad  basis  on  which  God  has  planted  this  nation  in  its  struggle 
for  life  and  liberty,  and  you  have  done  much  to  strengthen  those 
who  have  stood  by  our  cause  in  its  darkest  hours.  One  of  my 
members,  who  faced  the  fury  of  the  mob  on  the  ipth  of  April, 
1861,  interposing  himself  between  them  and  the  Massachusetts 
soldiers,  said  to  me  to-day :  '  I  have  not  felt  so  strong  since  the 
Rebellion  broke  out  as  since  hearing  that  speech.'  " 

In  December,  1864,  Mr.  Dodge  served  upon  a  general 
committee  to  provide  a  testimonial  for  Admiral  Farragut. 
In  the  following  March  (1865)  he  assisted  in  the  arrange- 
ments for  a  celebration  of  the  victories  of  the  Federal 
forces,  and  a  few  weeks  later  in  a  commemoration  of  the 
final  triumph  of  the  Union  cause. 

Immediately  after  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln 
he  united  with  a  number  of  prominent  citizens  in  sending 
an  address  of  encouragement  to  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson, 
called  to  office  under  such  startling  circumstances.  He 
was  one  of  the  delegation  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at 
the  funeral  of  the  martyred  President,  and  subsequently 
acted  upon  a  committee  to  erect  a  statue  to  his  memory. 

In  October,  1865,  he  addressed  a  meeting  in  Chicago  in 
behalf  of  the  American  Union  Commission,  an  organiza- 
tion for  the  relief  of  suffering  in  the  South.  In  his 
remarks  he  says :  — 

"  The  North  has  been  blessed  with  a  bountiful  harvest.  It  has 
been  saved  from  the  desolation  which  has  swept  over  the  South. 

7 


98  WELCOME  TO  SOUTHERN  DELEGATES. 

We  must  no  longer  regard  the  people  of  that  section  as  enemies. 
God  has  given  the  North  power  to  make  them  friends.  We  rejoice 
in  the  recent  triumph  of  our  arms  because  it  has  given  us  a  Union. 
But  what  is  a  union  without  friendship  ?  Whether  friends  or  ene- 
mies, when  we  see  the  people  of  the  South  starving,  we  must  send 
them  help  from  our  overflowing  granaries.  Thousands  of  intelli- 
gent men  there  were,  in  heart  true  to  the  Union.  Yet  all  now 
share  the  common  need.  'In  one  day  a  single  blast  obliterated  the 
entire  Confederate  currency ;  and  with  what  else  could  they  pur- 
chase bread?  The  object  of  this  commission  is  not  to  pauperize 
the  South,  but  to  render  judicious  aid.  We  want  to  see  them  in- 
dependent and  self-sustaining,  mingling  with  the  North  as  they 
have  never  yet  done.  Accept  the  South  as  it  is.  Take  their 
repentance  as  it  is  presented.  State  after  State  has  formally 
acknowledged  that  slavery  is  dead,  and  they  want  no  more  of  it. 
Let  us  help  also  to  alleviate  their  intellectual  destitution.  The 
Press  and  the  school-teacher  must  go  there.  Intelligence  must 
increase,  and  the  whole  people  be  made  one  with  the  North.  Let 
us  deal  with  them  in  a  Christian  spirit,  and  God's  blessing  will 
crown  the  effort." 

In  November,  1865,  he  took  part  in  the  preparations  for 
a  public  reception  to  General  Grant.  He  also  presided  at 
a  Republican  ratification  meeting  in  Cooper  Union  Hall, 
where  addresses  were  made  by  General  Kilpatrick,  Horace 
Greeley,  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  and  others.  The  next  year 
he  delivered  at  the  same  place  an  address  of  welcome  to 
loyal  delegates  from  the  South.  In  the  course  of  his 
remarks  on  that  occasion  he  says :  — 

"  You  may  have  felt  at  times  that  we  of  the  North  were  not 
sympathizing  with  you  in  the  terrible  struggles  through  which  you 
have  passed,  not  only  during  the  war,  but  worse  perhaps  since  it 
ended.  But  we  have  not  forgotten  you.  Nor  have  we  lost  our 
love  for  our  common  country.  We  want  a  union  that  shall  be 
permanent;  no  hasty  union  without  conditions  from  those  who 
have  striven  to  destroy  our  liberties.  Four  millions  of  lately  en- 
slaved men  stand  in  new  relations.  The  war,  the  act  of  emanci- 
pation, the  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  have  elevated  them 


GENERAL  GRANT  NOMINATED.          99 

to  be  citizens.  We  insist  that  they  shall  have  an  opportunity  to 
rise  to  the  full  privileges  of  citizenship.  We  are  glad  to  have 
you  who  come  from  the  South  pass  through  the  land  and  see 
for  yourselves  that  the  Republican  party  is  still  alive,  that  it  is 
undiminished  in  numbers,  honor,  and  influence." 

The  Union  League  Club  of  New  York  gave  to  General 
Grant  (December,  1868)  a  dinner, .at  which  Mr.  Dodge 
responded  to  the  toast,  "The  Congress  of  the  United 
States  the  Guardian  of  the  People's  Rights."  In  his  re- 
marks here,  as  elsewhere,  he  does  not  fail  to  recognize  the 
Divine  ordering  of  events.  It  was  almost  the  unconscious 
expression  of  his  habitual  frame  of  mind.  He  said :  — 

"  It  is  instructive  to  look  back  and  mark  the  Providence  of 
God,  which  not  only  guided  in  the  establishment  of  our  republi- 
can form  of  government,  but  has  so  manifestly  watched  over  it 
ever  since.  It  was  adapted  to  our  wants  when  we  were  just 
emerging  from  Colonial  dependence,  and  it  is  found  equally 
efficient  now  that  we  have  three  times  the  number  of  States,  and 
four  times  as  many  Representatives.  The  wise  adjustment  of  re- 
sponsibility between  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  de- 
partments, provided  for  in  the  Constitution,  has  continued  to  work 
harmoniously  and  to  meet  every  emergency.  Although  we  have 
seen  that  a  President,  in  striving  to  enforce  his  own  views,  can  tem- 
porarily embarrass  the  proper  functions  of  Congress,  yet  the  people, 
in  whom  is  vested  the  final  appeal,  can  place,  and  have  placed, 
through  their  chosen  Representatives,  a  solemn  veto  upon  such 
attempts." 

Mr.  Dodge  took  part  in  the  movement  which  gave 
General  Grant  his  first  nomination  to  the  Presidency ;  and 
at  a  public  meeting  of  merchants,  bankers,  and  business 
men,  held  at  Cooper  Institute,  April  17,  1872,  to  recom- 
mend General  Grant's  renomination,  Mr.  Dodge  was  called 
to  the  chair.  In  his  opening  address  he  says :  — 

"  We  are  assembled  frankly  to  express  our  impressions  in  regard 
to  the  manner  in  which  General  Grant  has  fulfilled  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  party  which  elected  him  to  his  high  office.  In  com- 


100        GENERAL  GRANT  RENOMINATED. 

mon  with  many  others,  I  confess  I  had  apprehensions  that  his 
previous  training  might  not  have  fitted  him  for  the  responsibilities 
of  a  position  to  which  he  was  elevated  on  account  of  his  success 
in  leading  our  armies  to  victory.  The  result  of  his  administration 
for  three  years  has  dissipated  my  fears.  When  has  our  country, 
as  a  whole,  experienced  more  general  prosperity  ?  When  has  our 
national  credit,  at  home  and  abroad,  stood  higher?  When  have 
our  laboring-classes  been  more  widely  employed  or  better  paid  ? 
The  heavy  burden  of  taxation,  made  necessary  by  the  war,  has  been 
steadily  lessened,  and  our  stupendous  debt  itself  reduced,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  nations  of  Europe.  It  could  not  have  been 
anticipated  that  the  great  social  and  political  changes  following 
the  war  would  be  adjusted  without  trouble  and  friction  at  the 
South.  That  there  has  been  more  or  less  cause  for  complaint, 
we  do  not  deny.  Yet  the  difficulties  have  mainly  been  the  natural 
result  of  this  transition  state,  and  President  Grant  should  no  more 
be  held  accountable  than  the  whole  Republican  party ;  nor  should 
they  be  made  responsible  for  the  adventurers  who  went  to  the 
South  to  profit  by  the  chaos  there,  and  who  in  many  cases,  under 
the  guise  of  Republicans,  misled  the  freedmen  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  their  own  personal  ends.  It  was  only  natural  that 
men  just  emancipated  should  seek  the  counsel  and  leadership 
of  others  than  those  who  had  held  them  in  bondage ;  nor  could 
it  be  expected  that  they  should  at  once  be  able  to  discern  the  true 
character  and  aims  of  the  unscrupulous  men  who  were  seeking  to 
lead  them  astray.  I  have  recently  returned  from  an  extended  tour 
in  the  South,  where  I  found  the  leading  men  watching  with  intense 
interest  the  progress  of  the  Presidential  campaign  at  the  North. 
They  remember  that  the  Dempcrats  here,  with  some  noble  excep- 
tions, were  opposed  to  the  war,  and  in  Congress  and  out,  during 
all  its  continuance,  predicted  and  desired  its  failure.  These  men 
at  the  South  are  now  hoping  for  Democratic  success,  expecting 
in  that  event  that  in  some  way  —  they  do  not  exactly  see  how  — 
the  freedmen  are  to  be  made  political  slaves,  and  their  influence 
in  a  large  measure  be  destroyed." 

Garbled  accounts  of  this  portion  of  his  speech  were 
published,  and  found  their  way  into  the  columns  of  South- 
ern papers.  Mr.  Dodge  was  charged  with  asserting  that 


GENERAL  GRANT  RENOMINATED.         IOI 

the  people  of  the  South  "  were  seeking  to  re-enslave  the 
negroes."  Some  severe  criticism  appeared,  and  several 
friends  in  the  South  wrote  to  inquire  if  these  were  his 
sentiments.  His  reply  was  also  soon  published  in  the 
Southern  papers,  and  the  misconception  corrected.  Mr. 
Dodge's  cordial  attitude  towards  the  South  was  fully 
recognized,  as  well  as  "  his  desire  to  remove  all  distrust 
and  antagonism  between  the  two  sections  of  the  common 
country."  His  gifts  to  various  objects  in  the  South,  to- 
gether with  his  large  investments  there,  were  also  cited  as 
evidence  of  his  confidence  and  good-will. 

In  1872  he  was  chosen  delegate  from  the  Sixth  District 
of  New  York  city  to  the  National  Republican  Convention 
at  Philadelphia. 

From  that  city  he  writes  to  his  wife,  June  5  :  — 

"The  delegates  are  singularly  fine-looking  men.  No  conven- 
tion ever  had  fewer  office-holders.  There  are  a  number  of  colored 
delegates  from  the  South.  To-day,  after  we  had  been  listening 
for  several  hours  to  splendid  addresses  from  some  of  the  best 
speakers  in  the  country,  there  was  a  general  desire  to  hear  from 
the  colored  members,  and  three  of  them  were  called  out,  and  made 
remarkable  speeches  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  To-morrow  we 
shall  nominate  Grant  by  acclamation." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  also  made,  at  the  general  election  in 
November,  1872,  one  of  the  electors  of  the  State  of  New 
York  for  president  and  vice-president,  and  at  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Electoral  College  he  cast  his  vote  for  Grant 
and  Wilson. 

Just  on  the  eve  of  the  Presidential  election  of  1876,  in 
which  the  Democratic  party  was  defeated,  Mr.  Dodge  pre- 
sided at  a  large  political  gathering  and  gave  expression  to 
the  fears  of  many  business  men  at  the  possibility  of  the 
government  passing  into  the  hands  of  those  who  were  the 
enemies  of  their  country  during  the  war,  and  who  would 
now  attempt  to  evade  the  recent  amendments,  increase 
the  issue  of  paper-money,  and  delay  the  resumption  of 


102  GENERAL  GARFIELD'S   ELECTION. 

specie-payment  Mr.  Tilden  was  a  good  governor,  but 
he  could  not,  if  President,  resist  the  demands  of  a  "  solid 
South,"  backed  by  its  friends  at  the  North ;  and  the  result 
would  be  that  "  after  all  our  expenditures  of  life  and 
treasure,  we  should  be  the  divided,  and  not  the  United, 
States." 

During  Mr.  Dodge's  term  in  Congress  his  relations  with 
Mr.  Garfield  were  most  pleasant  and  intimate.  In  1880, 
when  Mr.  Garfield  was  elected,  Mr.  Dodge  wrote  him : 

"NEW  YORK,  Nov.  5,  1880. 

"  MY  DEAR  GENERAL  GARFIELD,  —  I  desire  to  unite  with  multi- 
tudes who  will  send  their  congratulations.  I  have  watched  the 
progress  of  the  canvass  with  intense  interest  and  daily  prayer.  I 
am  confident  more  prayer  has  been  offered  for  your  success  than 
in  any  recent  election,  and  I  desire  to  bless  God  that  he  has,  by 
such  a  large  and  decided  majority,  given  us  a  President  who,  I 
know,  will  satisfy  the  best  portion  of  the  nation,  and  will  do  all 
that  can  be  consistently  done  to  restore  the  South  to  its  proper 
position.  I  am  quite  sure  we  shall  never  see  a  '  solid  South  '  again. 
May  God  bless  you  and  give  you  all  necessary  strength  to  do  (as 
I  know  you  will  wish  to  do)  just  what  will  best  promote  the  true 
interests  of  all  parts  of  the  country." 

In  November,  1882,  Mr.  Dodge  spent  an  active  day  in 
New  Jersey  making  addresses  in  three  neighboring  towns 
to  urge  upon  the  friends  of  temperance  the  wisdom  of  not 
attempting  to  run  a  separate  ticket  in  the  canvass  of  that 
year.  He  believed  such  a  course  often  defeated  the  very 
object  most  desired  by  Prohibitionists. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  a  large  importer  during  almost  his  entire 
mercantile  life,  yet  he  was  a  warm  advocate  of  protection. 
He  looked  upon  the  diversified  industries  of  the  country  as 
one  of  the  chief  causes  of  its  prosperity.  While  entertain- 
ing broad  views  of  the  mutual  dependence  and  obligation 
of  nations,  he  held  it  to  be  the  first  duty  of  Americans  to 
develop  the  varied  and  marvellous  resources  of  their  own 
vast  territory ;  to  encourage  home  manufactories  until  they 


SPEECH   IN   FAVOR   OF    PROTECTION.  103 

* 

could  successfully  compete  with  the  products  of  low-priced 
labor  abroad ;  and  to  build  up  a  strong,  happy,  and  united 
people  by  direct  and  extensive  businesss  relations  among 
all  the  States  of  the  Union.  Just  a  week  before  he  died 
he  addressed  a  meeting  at  the  Cooper  Institute  of  the 
opponents  of  Free-Trade.  Many  pfominent  merchants 
were  present,  and  also  a  large  number  of  skilled  mechanics. 
Among  other  things,  Mr.  Dodge  spoke  of  the  contrast  in 
wages  and  comforts  of  the  workmen  at  two  great  iron 
centres  with  which  he  was  personally  familiar,  —  one  a 
district  in  South  Wales,  the  other  in  Pennsylvania.  He 
also  deprecated  any  attempt  to  create  antagonism  between 
capital  and  labor :  — 

"  It  is  time,  fellow-citizens,  that  all  who  believe  in  the  support 
of  our  own  manufactories  and  in  sustaining  the  laboring  interests 
of  this  country  should  let  the  country  know  what  they  advocate 
and  what  they  intend  to  do.  One  of  the  greatest  dangers  of  the 
present  day  is  the  fact  that  the  working-classes  throughout  the  land 
are  made  to  believe  that  capital  is  oppressing  them  and  standing 
in  the  way  of  their  advancement.  The  truth  is,  that  in  this  country 
capital  is  the  best  friend  of  labor." 

On  this  occasion  Mr.  Dodge  assisted,  in  the  duties  of 
presiding  officer,  his  friend  of  many  years,  the  venerable 
Peter  Cooper,  whose  familiar  and  beloved  face  was  also 
so  soon  to  be  seen  no  more  in  the  great  gatherings  of  the 
people. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE. 

*  HE  first  intimation  that  he  was  to  be  nominated  for 
-L       Congress  came  to  Mr.  Dodge  while  attending  the 
annual  missionary  meeting  of  the  American  Board,  held 
that   year  at  Worcester,  Mass.      The   letter,  dated   New 
York,  Oct.  6,  1 864,  says :  — 

"Your  fellow-citizens  of  the  Eighth  Congressional  District  be- 
lieve that  you  are  the  only  man  in  it  who  can  carry  the  district  in 
the  interests  of  good  government  and  union.  On  this  account  we 
have  made  bold,  against  your  knowledge  and  wishes,  to  use  your 
name.  It  has  been  received  in  every  quarter  with  the  highest 
commendation." 

The  country  at  this  time  was  profoundly  stirred  by  the 
issues  of  the  impending  Presidential  contest.  Upon  the 
re-election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  hung  the  question  whether 
the  war  should  be  prosecuted  with  unabated  vigor,  and 
until  rebellion  should  lay  down  its  arms.  All  through  the 
previous  summer  general  doubt  and  depression  had  pre- 
vailed ;  but  now  loyal  hearts  everywhere  were  filled  with 
fresh  courage  by  brilliant  Union  victories  at  Chattanooga, 
Atlanta,  Petersburg,  and  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and 
with  Republican  success  in  the  early  fall  elections  of 
Vermont,  Maine,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Indiana. 

The  city  of  New  York,  always  a  Democratic  stronghold, 
contained  throughout  the  war  a  vast  body  of  voters  op- 
posed to  the  Government.  The  platform  adopted  at  the 
Democratic  Convention  of  that  year  had  denounced  the 
war  as  a  failure,  and  demanded  cessation  of  hostilities  and 


CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE. 


105 


the  calling  of  a  convention  of  all  the  States,  or  "  other 
peaceable  means  to  restore  tranquillity."  At  the  same 
time  the  acts  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Administration  were  declared 
to  be  subversive  of  the  Constitution,  a  usurpation  of  the 
rights  of  citizens,  and  antagonistic  to  the  interests  of  the 
country.  Mr.  James  Brooks,  the  principal  opponent  of 
Mr.  Dodge,  was  a  prominent  leader  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  Congress  and  out.  He  now  held  the  seat,  and  had 
been  successful  at  three  previous  elections.  He  was  sup- 
ported by  a  large  and  often  unscrupulous  constituency, 
knew  all  the  arts  of  an  experienced  politician,  and  exerted 
a  wide  influence  over  certain  classes  through  his  own 
newspaper,  "  The  New  York  Evening  Express."  He  was 
a  recognized  "  champion  of  the  rights  of  the  South." 

To  defeat  such  a  candidate  seemed  hopeless ;  but  it 
would  be  an  additional  Union  victory,  and  the  loyal 
elements  in  the  district,  laying  aside  other  differences, 
combined  to  name  Mr.  Dodge. 

He  thus  received  the  nomination  of  the  Regular  Union 
Association,  the  Citizens'  Organization,  and  the  War 
Democratic  General  Committee ;  afterwards  also  that  of 
a  smaller  faction,  which  at  first  had  proposed  a  candidate 
from  one  of  the  United  States  Government  offices  in  the 
city.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  prospect  that  the 
usual  Democratic  vote  might  be  divided  by  the  attempt 
of  Tammany -Hall  to  elect  a  nominee  of  its  own. 

Mr.  Dodge  replied  as  follows  to  the  official  announce- 
ment of  his  nomination :  — 

"  NEW  YORK,  Oct.  14,  1864. 

"  GENTLEMEN,  —  Your  note  of  this  date,  informing  me  of  the 
honor  done  me  by  the  Union  Convention  in  nominating  me  as 
their  candidate  for  Congress,  is  received.  You  truly  state  that  the 
position  was  neither  sought  nor  desired  by  me.  It  is  a  grateful  and 
unexpected  tribute  of  confidence  from  my  friends  and  neighbors. 
Did  I  consult  those  dictates  of  personal  comfort  and  private  inter- 
est which  you  seem  to  think  should  be  disregarded  at  this  time, 
I  should  refuse  the  nomination ;  but  when  so  many  are  perilling 


106  CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE. 

their  lives  for  our  common  cause,  I  have  not  the  courage  to  refuse 
any  duty,  however  laborious,  to  which  I  may  be  called.  If  my 
fellow-citizens  deem  that  my  voice  and  influence  in  the  National 
Congress  can  contribute  to  the  support  of  that  Government  and 
Union  by  which  alone  our  existence  is  made  sure,  that  influence, 
whatever  it  may  be,  shall  not  be  withheld.  I  should  at  least  hope 
to  serve  somewhat  the  commercial  interests  of  the  city  with  which 
I  have  been  so  long  identified." 

One  or  two  extracts  from  resolutions  passed  at  political 
meetings  in  the  district  will  exhibit  the  loyal  sentiment 
prevailing  at  the  time. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  i8th  Ward  Union  Associa- 
tion it  was  — 

"  Resolved,  that  in  the  pending  canvass  the  Unionists  of  New 
York  are  not  contending  for  a  partisan  triumph ;  but  coming,  as 
they  do,  from  every  political  organization  of  the  past,  they  are  de- 
termined to  avail  themselves  of  all  the  opportunities  of  the  present 
to  preserve  the  free  principles  of  our  Constitution  and  to  advance 
the  cause  of  good  government  in  city,  State,  and  nation. 

"Resolved,  that  in  times  like  these,  when  the  soldier  and  the 
statesman  are  struggling  to  perpetuate  those  liberties  of  which  the 
blood  and  brain  of  our  revolutionary  fathers  was  the  price,  we 
ought  to  send  to  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States  such  men  as  sat 
in  the  Continental  Congress  in  the  era  of  1776.  The  people  of 
the  Eighth  District  have  found  a  man  of  this  type  in  the  incor- 
ruptible merchant,  the  honorable,  able,"  and  accomplished  citizen, 
William  E.  Dodge." 

Less  fervid  and  personal,  but  equally  characteristic  of 
the  patriotic  sentiments  of  the  day,  were  the  resolutions 
offered  by  Mr.  Samuel  B.  Ruggles  at  a  general  meeting  of 
the  citizens  of  the  district,  called  to  ratify  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Dodge. 

A  few  vigorous  paragraphs  condensed  the  special  consti- 
tutional questions  then  before  the  country,  insisting  that  — 

"  The  one  transcendent  issue  was  the  preservation  of  the  Na- 
tional Government;  that  the  Constitution  contained  no  reserved 


CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE.  IO/ 

rights  to  separate  States,  by  which,  at  their  own  discretion,  they 
could  impair  the  powers  invested  in  the  General  Government ;  that 
the  Union  was  in  no  sense  a  mere  compact,  but  an  irrevocable 
act  of  the  whole  people,  by  which  a  National,  and  not  a  Federal, 
Union  was  created ;  and  that  the  existing  insurrection  was  open 
treason  against  legitimate  authority,  and  must  be  suppressed  at 
any  cost." 

The  Eighth  Congressional  District  included  that  part  of 
the  city  east  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  between  Fourteenth  and 
Forty-second  Streets.  A  large  number  of  leading  citizens 
resided  within  these  limits,  and  the  names  of  most  of 
them  appear  in  a  printed  appeal  to  the  voters  of  the  wards 
comprising  the  district.  It  reads  as  follows :  — 

"  This  nomination,  entirely  unsought  by  Mr.  Dodge,  and  only 
accepted  by  him  from  a  sense  of  duty,  will  at  once  commend  itself 
to  every  loyal  man  who  desires  to  see  our  city  represented  in  Con- 
gress by  one  in  every  way  qualified  for  the  position.  For  the  last 
thirty  years  he  has  been  known  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  mer- 
chants of  our  city,  and  as  such  has  been  identified  with  its  growth 
and  commercial  prosperity,  and  has  ever  been  foremost  in  its 
enterprises  of  public  benevolence  and  improvement." 

The  election  took  place  within  a  few  days.  Returns 
brought  to  police  headquarters  declared  Mr.  Dodge  to 
have  received  a  majority  of  more  than  seven  hundred  votes. 
The  reports  of  the  Associated  Press  gave  Mr.  Brooks  a 
majority  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty.  The  total  vote 
of  the  district  was  twenty-two  thousand.  Investigation 
brought  to  light  "  gross  irregularities  and  frauds." 

Friends  in  the  city  and  elsewhere  continued  to  urge 
Mr.  Dodge  to  contest  the  election ;  and  he  finally  con- 
sented, although  his  decision  might  have  been  different, 
had  he  known  beforehand  the  wearisome  and  offensive 
experiences  involved. 

Mr.  Dodge  had  for  his  attorney  Mr.  William  Walter 
Phelps,  afterwards  himself  member  of  Congress,  and 


108  CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE. 

United  States  Minister  to  Austria.  The  evidence  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Dodge  filled  a  volume  of  over  five  hundred 
pages,  charging  conspiracy  to  secure,  by  any  means,  the 
return  of  the  Democratic  nominee,  and  showing  that  the 
voting  population  of  the  district  had  been  mysteriously 
increased  by  several  thousands,  all  of  one  political  faith ; 
that  soldiers'  votes  were  forged  and  accepted,  and  the 
votes  of  non-residents  counted,  while  those  of  soldiers 
and  others,  legally  qualified,  were  rejected ;  that  in  some 
cases,  with  fraudulent  intent,  books  of  registry  were  made 
defective;  inspectors  acted  without  warrant;  canvassers 
sent  in  false  returns ;  and  bribes,  threats,  and  intimidation 
were  employed. 

The  taking  of  testimony  before  the  Court  consumed 
nearly  six  weeks  of  the  spring  of  1865.  At  the  opening 
of  Congress  the  following  autumn,  Mr.  Dodge's  memorial, 
claiming  the  seat,  was  presented,  and  the  papers  referred 
to  the  Committee  of  Elections. 

The  sitting  member  used  every  device  to  delay  action, 
especially  by  withholding  his  own  evidence.  When  finally 
forced  to  print,  he  also  brought  in  a  document  of  some  five 
hundred  pages. 

The  hearing  before  the  Committee  occupied  many  days ; 
and  when  the  contest  at  last  reached  the  House,  two 
months  elapsed  before  the  decision  was  made. 

Mr.  Dodge,  as  contestant,  was  accorded  the  privilege  at 
one  of  the  sessions  of  being  heard  in  his  own  behalf.  Mr. 
Brooks,  still  having  the  rights  of  a  regular  member,  took 
an  active  part  in  the  entire  discussion.  He  was,  moreover, 
a  man  of  plausible  address,  skilled  in  the  use  of  parlia- 
mentary expedients,  and  had  the  strength  of  his  party 
behind  him.  At  the  organization  of  the  House  wrhen  this 
Congress  assembled  he  was  the  only  Democratic  candidate 
for  Speaker. 

Mr.  Brooks  formulated  numerous  charges,  but  failed  to 
produce  satisfactory  proof.  He  dwelt  repeatedly  upon  the 


CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE.  109 

wealth  of  the  contestant,  and  accused  him  of  using  it  to 
secure  votes. 

The  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Elections,  the  Hon. 
Henry  L.  Dawes,  of  Massachusetts,  in  presenting  a  report 
of  the  case  and  announcing  the  decision  of  a  majority  of 
the  Committee  in  favor  of  Mr.  Dodge,  declared  this  charge 
of  bribery  was  not  sustained  "  by  one  scintilla  of  evidence ; 
that  the  most  diligent  search  of  nine  hundred  pages  of 
printed  matter  failed  to  reveal  a  single  particle  of  testi- 
mony that  any  money  whatever  had  been  used  for  any 
corrupt  or  unlawful  purpose." 

An  indignant  protest  also  came  from  one  of  the  mem- 
bers from  New  York,  the  Hon.  Henry  J.  Raymond,  editor 
of  the  "  New  York  Times :  "  — 

"  I  venture  to  say  there  is  not  a  man  in  New  York  or  in  the 
United  States  who  knows  the  contestant  that  will  for  one  moment 
pretend  or  suspect  his  possession  of  large  wealth  is  to  be  weighed 
against  him  in  this  or  any  other  scale.  It  has  all  been  acquired 
honorably,  justly,  fairly,  without  wronging  any  man.  After  acquir- 
ing wealth  in  this  manner  it  is  to  his  honor,  and  something  to  be 
said  rather  in  his  praise  than  against  him,  that  he  still  has  it,  and 
something  still  more  to  his  praise  and  honor  that  he  has  expended 
it  as  liberally  and  nobly  and  honorably  as  he  has  acquired  it. 
There  is  not  a  man  familiar  with  the  charities  of  New  York,  or  the 
charities  outside  of  New  York  which  seek  that  city  as  the  field 
of  operations  for  the  recruital  of  their  resources,  who  does  not 
know  that  the  contestant  in  this  case  is  the  first  man  to  whom 
they  all  go,  and  the  man  from  whom  they  come  with  the  largest 
contributions." 

At  the  session  of  April  6,  1866,  the  resolution  was 
passed  declaring  Mr.  Dodge  entitled  to  the  seat,  and  he 
was  at  once  duly  qualified. 

With  characteristic  thoughtfulness,  he  had  a  letter  on 
the  table  describing  to  his  wife  the  progress  of  the  final 
debate,  and  he  leaves  it  open  to  add  a  hurried  line 
announcing  the  result:  — 


1 10  CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE. 

"  Five  o'clock.  —  I  have  just  been  sworn  in  —  72  to  52.  All 
right." 

Congratulations  flowed  in  from  every  quarter.  Mr.  Jona- 
than Sturges  writes,  New  York,  April  7 :  — 

"  I  congratulate  you  that  your  rights  have  been  assured  to  you 
by  Congress,  and  I  congratulate  New  York  that  she  has  a  repre- 
sentative" 

Mr.  Elliot  C.  Cowdin :  — 

"  I  congratulate  you  on  the  final  result  of  your  well-fought 
battle.  Few  would  have  had  the  patience  to  follow  up  the  contest 
with  such  energy." 

Mr.  James  Brown,  in  a  long  letter  upon  the  condition  of 
political  parties,  says :  — 

"  You  take  your  seat  and  will  record  your  votes  at  about 
as  anxious  a  period  .in  the  history  of  the  country  as  it  has  ever 
seen." 

A  leading  religious  paper  of  Philadelphia,  "  The  Presby- 
terian," in  an  editorial,  April  12,  1866,  refers  to  Mr.  Dodge's 
success  in  these  terms :  — 

"  It  gives  us  uncommon  pleasure  to  announce  the  admission  to 
the  lower  House  of  Congress  of  a  citizen  so  eminently  fitted  to 
bear  the  responsibilities  and  perform  the  duties  of  a  legislator  as 
Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  of  New  York.  It  is  one  of  the  most  cheer- 
ing results  of  the  great  and  bloody  revolution  through  which  we 
have  passed  that  the  people  have  to  so  great  an  extent  become 
convinced  of  the  vital  necessity  of  sending  a  better  class  of  men  to 
represent  them  in  Congress  and  at  their  State  capitals,  and  that 
men  of  this  class  have  been  found  willing  to  go.  The  high  charac- 
ter of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  has  been  a  matter  of  frequent  re- 
mark. We  believe  that  even  among  his  noble-minded  associates 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr.  Dodge's  piety,  probity,  busi- 
ness capacity,  largeness  of  views,  and  liberality  in  action  will  make 
him  eminent.  In  the  vain  but  brutal  assaults  made  upon  him 
during  the  debate  preceding  his  admission,  he  was  already  recog- 
nized as  in  some  sense  representing  the  religious  sentiment  of  the 


CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE.  Ill 

community.  We  do  not  ask  a  safer,  truer  standard-bearer.  We 
congratulate  New  York  that  she  has,  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Dodge, 
secured  one  of  the  best  men  every  way,  the  country  over,  as  a 
representative." 

The  discussions  and  decisions  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress 
occupy  a  memorable  place  in  the  history  of  the  country. 
Since  the  adjournment  of  the  preceding  Congress  events 
of  the  gravest  moment  had  transpired.  Abraham  Lincoln 
had  been  slain  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  Andrew  John- 
son had  become  President.  Under  his  official  direction 
the  work  of  reconstruction  had  advanced  along  lines  in- 
volving profound  principles  and  far-reaching  consequences. 
Not  only  were  these  acts  of  the  Executive  to  be  now  rati- 
fied or  condemned,  but  the  whole  vast  and  perplexing 
problem  of  pacification  —  the  restoration  of  civil  govern- 
ment in  the  Southern  States,  their  representation  in  Con- 
gress, the  condition  and  rights  of  the  freedmen,  with 
questions  of  financial,  commercial,  and  international  bear- 
ing —  pressed  for  settlement. 

The  deliberations  were  protracted  and  exhaustive.  The 
conclusions  reached  have  not  perhaps  been  fully  justified 
by  subsequent  events ;  but  in  honest  endeavors  to  grapple 
with  and  solve  difficulties  of  extraordinary  novelty  and 
magnitude  at  a  period  of  intense  national  excitement,  the 
records  of  this  Congress  bear  evidence  of  rare  nobility 
of  purpose,  unswerving  patriotism,  and,  in  a  large  degree, 
freedom  from  motives  purely  sectional  and  partisan. 

Mr.  Schuyler  Colfax,  Speaker  of  the  House,  in  closing 
its  sessions,  expressed  his  conviction  that  — 

"  The  Thirty-ninth  Congress  had  proved  itself  more  faithful  to 
human  progress  and  liberty  than  any  of  its  predecessors.  The 
outraged  and  oppressed  found  in  these  congressional  halls  cham- 
pions and  friends.  Its  key-note  of  policy  was  protection  to  the 
down-trodden.  It  lifted  the  slave,  whom  the  nation  had  freed,  to 
the  full  stature  of  manhood." 


112  CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE. 

Mr.  Dodge  entered  upon  these  discussions  with  the  liveli- 
est sympathy,  and  also  with  intelligent  and  independent 
views,  born  of  long  observation  of  the  general  progress  of 
the  nation  and  special  familiarity  with  recent  events.  One 
of  his  colleagues,  —  the  Hon.  Josiah  B.  Grinnell,  member 
from  Iowa,  — writing  of  Mr.  Dodge  at  this  time,  says: 

"  Years  are  often  required  to  become  versed  in  congressional 
rules,  routine  of  business,  and  parliamentary  arts.  Mr.  Dodge's 
wide  knowledge  of  men  and  experience  in  public  matters  spared 
him  from  blunders.  He  set  about  his  work  with  the  directness 
of  his  nature,  and  an  intensity  of  conviction  that  evinced  the  man 
of  mark.  His  political  opinions  were  not  always  in  accord  with 
the  dominant  majority.  For  thirty  years  a  man  of  affairs,  identified 
with  commerce,  a  leader  in  a  great  metropolis  of  trade,  merged  in 
financial  operations,  associated  with  men  of  the  largest  means  and 
influence,  he  could  not  be  a  strict  adherent  or  follow  the  dictates 
of  party  without  relation  to  the  credit  of  the  country  and  the  re- 
construction schemes  then  on  trial.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  eras  of  our  political  history.  Of  his  colleagues  who  after- 
wards served  in  the  United  States  Senate  I  recall  Boutwell  and 
Dawes,  of  Massachusetts ;  Morrill,  of  Vermont ;  Patterson  and 
Rollins,  of  New  Hampshire ;  Elaine,  of  Maine  ;  Conkling,  of  New 
York  ;  Garfield,  of  Ohio  ;  Allison  and  Wilson,  of  Iowa  ;  Cullom,  of 
Illinois ;  Ferry,  of  Michigan  ;  Sawyer,  of  Wisconsin ;  and  Windom, 
of  Minnesota. 

"  Eminent  since  then  in  diplomatic  services  have  been  Wash- 
bourne,  Kasson,  Bingham,  and  Schenck.  Banks  and  Rice,  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Perham,  of  Maine,  are  remembered  as  Ex- 
Governors.  Randall,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Kerr,  of  Indiana,  have 
since  been  Speakers  of  the  House.  Thaddeus  Stevens,  the  great 
commoner,  had  won  his  laurels  as  the  leader  in  many  a  Congress. 
Hayes,  of  Ohio,  and  the  martyr  Garfield  rose  to  the  presidency. 

"  Nor  should  I  fail  to  recall  Henry  Winter  Davis,  the  orator ; 
Hooper,  of  Massachusetts,  the  banker ;  and  Oakes  Ames,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, the  manufacturer,  crushed  by  the  herculean  task  of  build- 
ing the  Union  Pacific  Railway,  and  bearing  a  load  of  calumny,  to 
be  generously  lifted  by  his  native  State.  Others  there  were  less 


CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE.  113 

conspicuous,  but  not  less  worthy  of  a  seat  in  the  national  councils. 
Let  me  add  that  both  Lincoln  and  Garfield  trusted  and  confided 
in  our  friend. 

"  Mr.  Dodge's  public  speeches  give  only  a  dim  outline  of  the 
service  he  rendered.  He  was  never  deaf  to  the  wants  of  classes 
neglected  in  the  recent  fratricidal  strife  and  suffering  by  the  wastes 
of  war.  In  seeking  to  secure  them  relief,  he  became  a  constant 
messenger  to  the  different  departments.  The  colored  man,  in  and 
out  of  the  House,  found  an  earnest  listener  to  the  necessities  of 
the  people  on  the  cotton  plantation,  and  to  the  plea  for  schools  in 
the  desolated  Old  Dominion  and  other  places.  Indian  chiefs  and 
territorial  delegates  could  talk  to  him  of  abuses  without  fear  of 
rebuff.  In  the  promotion  of  temperance  Mr.  Dodge  gave  much  of 
his  leisure,  and  lent  the  influence  of  an  official  and  eminent  social 
position.  The  illegal  vendors  at  the  Capitol  and  the  intoxicated 
imbiber  shrank  from  his  gaze,  both  respecting  and  fearing  his  kind 
and  earnest  admonition.  As  a  legislator,  he  advocated  a  high  tax 
on  liquors  to  lessen  consumption,  and  urged  the  rigid  enforcement 
of  restrictive  laws  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  As  a  host  —  not 
from  parsimony,  but  as  a  reproof  to  pernicious  customs  —  he 
boldly  and  without  apology  became  singular  by  banishing  intoxi- 
cants from  his  table.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  mention  his  solicitous 
personal  efforts,  which  led  more  than  one  to  reformation  and  rescue 
from  a  drunkard's  doom. 

"  He  gave  most  effective  support  to  the  Congressional  Tempe- 
rance Society.  At  the  great  historical  meeting  held  in  the  Capitol, 
Mr.  Dodge  read  the  names  of  forty-seven  senators  and  representa- 
tives who  were  pledged  to  total  abstinence.  To  perpetuate  the 
influence  of  this  great  occasion,  Mr.  Dodge  himself  sent  pamphlets 
of  the  proceedings  and  speeches  all  over  the  country.  In  the  Con- 
gressional prayer-meeting,  where  senators  and  members  of  all  sec- 
tions and  of  every  shade  of  religious  belief  met  to  supplicate  the 
favor  of  the  God  of  nations,  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  prompt  attendant 
and  the  animating  soul.  As  a  Christian  gentleman,  his  cheerfulness 
and  uniform  courtesy  left  an  indelible  impression  upon  his  asso- 
ciates. The  announcement  of  his  name  as  a  speaker  or  presiding 
officer  would  attract  a  crowded  assembly.  With  the  colored  con- 
gregations of  the  city  he  was  a  special  favorite  as  a  speaker  ;  and 
he  himself  found  inspiration  in  their  hearty  '  amens '  and  stirring 

8 


114  CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE. 

songs,  which  in  his  mind  were  more  in  accord  with  primitive  wor- 
ship than  operatic  airs  given  by  a  professional  quartette. 

"  In  the  Standing  Committees  of  Congress,  as  Mr.  Dodge  was 
not  a  member  at  the  opening  of  the  first  session,  he  was  not  as- 
signed to  some  positions  for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified. 
He  served,  however,  upon  the  important  Committees  of  Commerce 
and  of  Foreign  Affairs,  besides  others  special  and  select. 

"  In  respect  to  tariff  legislation,  while  Mr.  Dodge  presented  by 
request  adverse  petitions,  he  believed  in  the  modification  of  the 
tariff  and  of  the  internal  revenue  laws  enacted  during  the  war. 
His  views  on  the  tariff  question  allied  him  in  theory  and  principles 
with  Henry  Clay,  the  champion  of  protection  and  the  American 
system.  His  personal  interests  as  an  importer  of  metals  were 
against  high  duties,  but  he  refused  to  overlook  the  claims  of  labor 
and  the  advantage  to  the  nation  at  large  of  a  protective  policy. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  had  been  mentioned  as  a  suitable  person  for  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  not  only  by  his  own  party,  but  by  the  mature 
judgment  of  business  men,  embracing  every  shade  of  opinion. 
Apart  from  finance,  the  reconstruction  of  the  Southern  States  and 
the  impeachment  of  Andrew  Johnson  were  the  great  questions  be- 
fore the  Thirty-ninth  Congress.  Politically  Mr.  Dodge  was  ranged 
on  the  side  of  the  conservatives.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Peace  Congress  of  1861 ;  and  there,  while  never  yielding  to 
treason  to  the  Government,  he  was  ready  to  go  to  the  verge  for 
conciliation  in  averting  civil  war.  He  believed  now  in  a  policy 
honorable  but  pacific.  While  a  friend  of  the  colored  race,  he  did 
not  think  the  masses  of  that  population  could  at  once  be  made 
voters  for  their  own  good  or  for  the  best  interests  of  the  country. 
He  held  —  what  has  since  been  clearly  demonstrated  —  that  it  is 
impossible  to  maintain  order  and  enforce  salutary  laws  while  the 
educated  classes  are  either  disfranchised  or  debarred  from  holding 
offices  in  the  State  or  the  nation. 

"  In  respect  to  the  policy  of  impeachment,  Mr.  Dodge  was  out- 
spoken and  decided,  agreeing  with  the  (for  a  time)  much  reviled 
senators  Grimes,  Fessenden,  and  Trumbull,  who  are  credited  with 
having  saved  the  party  from  a  precedent  at  once  impolitic  and 
dangerous  to  the  stability  of  our  political  institutions.  The  speech 
of  Mr.  Dodge  delivered  in  the  House  Jan.  21,  1867,  contained 
brave  words,  uttered  in  the  face  of  an  intolerant  party  spirit ;  but 


CONGRESSIONAL  LIFE.  115 

they  were  so  statesmanlike  that  since  then  they  have  commanded 
the  approval  of  a  large  majority  of  his  colleagues.  His  address 
urged  the  discontinuance  of  military  domination  and  a  hearty 
recognition  of  genuine  loyalty.  It  was  the  generous,  fraternal 
spirit  subsequently  advocated  by  Sumner,  Greeley,  and  the  ad- 
vanced thinkers  in  our  own  country,  and  it  was  also  in  accord  with 
the  sentiment  of  the  nation's  real  friends  in  other  lands." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  most  conscientious  in  his  endeavor  to 
meet  the  just  demands  and  liabilities  of  his  official  posi- 
tion; but  "the  quality  of  mercy"  was  at  times  somewhat 
"  strained  "  when  he  opened  his  daily  mails  or  was  waited 
upon  by  persistent  individuals  or  self-appointed  deputa- 
tions "  from  his  own  district."  While  the  tax  bill  was 
under  consideration,  his  constituents  especially  favored 
him  with  profuse  communications  or  personal  interviews, 
but  at  no  time  during  his  residence  in  Washington  could 
he  complain  of  neglect  on  the  part  of  those  who  felt  they 
had  "  claims." 

Inquiries,  suggestions,  remonstrances,  applications  for 
advice,  introductions,  or  "  influence,"  confronted  him  at 
every  hour,  in  all  places,  under  the  most  engaging  or 
exasperating  forms ;  some  legitimate,  some  with  the  odor 
of  "  jobbery,"  all  marked  "  immediate,"  and  each  expect- 
ing attention.  Such  requests  as  the  following  constantly 
found  their  way. to  his  desk:  "Please  push  our  railroad 
bill  ;  we  believe  it  to  be  a  most  righteous  .measure." 
"  Shall  I  take  my  goods  out  of  bond,  or  leave  them  there? 
Answer  by  wire."  "  Should  be  obliged  by  a  copy  of  the 
Medical  and  Surgical  History  of  the  War.  I  voted  for 
you."  "  Thanks  for  your  help  in  obtaining  second  lieu- 
tenancy; only  needs  active  pressure  to  secure  the  further 
promotion  to  which  I  feel  my  services  are  entitled."  "  Am 
anxious  to  be  appointed  weigher  in  the  New  York  Custom 
House."  "  Find  myself  in  need  of  seeds  from  the  Agricul- 
tural Department."  "  I  have  some  claims  for  horses  killed 
in  the  war."  "  I  have  a  niece  who  is  seeking  a  clerkship 


Il6  CONGRESSIONAL   LIFE. 

in  the  Treasury ;  her  father  was  a  soldier."  "  We  sent  an 
ingenious  and  useful  invention  to  the  Patent  Office;  can- 
not understand  why  it  is  refused."  "  I  beg  you  to  use 
your  influence  in  obtaining  my  pension."  "  Please  send 
all  public  documents  ;  we  are  filling  up  our  library." 
"  Wish  you  would  favor  the  bill  to  equalize  bounties ;  also 
as  to  disposition  of  Government  lands."  "  My  son  is  a 
candidate  for  cadetship  at  the  Naval  Academy;  a  line 
from  you  would  be  of  great  service."  "  I  am  a  volunteer 
officer,  seeking  appointment  in  the  regular  army.  There 
is  danger  of  my  application  being  pigeon-holed."  "  I  ven- 
ture to  request  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  ;  the  consulship  at  Trieste  may  soon  be  vacant." 
"  I  should  be  so  gratified  to  have  your  photograph,  with 
your  own  signature."  Appeals  to  his  "  well-known  benevo- 
lence "  were  based  on  political  considerations,  or  urged 
from  the  benefit  to  the  cause  of  a  contribution  from  one  in 
his  public  position. 

He  took  special  pleasure  in  the  visits  of  friends  at  his 
temporary  home  (No.  410  E  Street),  and  in  addition  to 
frequent  companies  at  dinner,  he  gave  one  or  two  large 
entertainments ;  but  while  every  provision  was  made  that 
a  generous  hospitality  could  supply,  on  no  occasion  was 
wine  offered  to  his  guests. 

He  usually  attended  the  brick  Presbyterian  Church, 
then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley,  but 
he  was  often  found  at  Sunday-schools  and  at  various 
religious  gatherings  in  the  city. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CONGRESSIONAL   SPEECHES. 

ALL  the  speeches  and  votes  of  Mr.  Dodge  indicate  that 
he  looked  upon  questions  before  Congress  from  a 
broad  and  national  point  of  view  rather  than  as  a  member 
of  a  party,  a  citizen  from  a  particular  State,  or  even  as  a 
representative  from  the  chief  centre  of  trade.  He  wished 
to  see  justice  hold  sway  in  every  sphere.  He  was  ready 
to  join  hands  with  any  of  his  colleagues  in  removing 
oppression,  under  whatever  guise. 

Three  days  after  he  had  gained  his  seat  the  House  was 
called  upon  to  cast  its  final  vote  upon  the  Civil  Rights  Bill. 
The  amendment  to  the  Constitution  which  abolished  slav- 
ery had  devolved  upon  Congress  the  subsequent  enforce- 
ment of  the  measure  by  appropriate  legislation,  defining 
the  rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  of  the  freedmen. 
The  bill  now  under  consideration  was  intended  to  protect 
them  against  all  unjust  discriminations  in  their  new  re- 
lations. Both  in  the  Senate  and  the  House  it  evoked 
prolonged  and  embittered  debate.  Democratic  members 
opposed  it  at  every  stage.  After  its  passage  President 
Johnson,  whose  "  policy"  had  now  become  conspicuously 
subservient  to  the  views  of  the  South,  returned  the  bill 
with  his  veto.  On  the  9th  of  April,  1867,  it  came  up  for 
reconsideration,  and  was  promptly  carried  by  more  than 
the  requisite  constitutional  majority  of  two  thirds. 

Mr.  Dodge  felt  peculiar  gratification  in  casting  his  first 
vote  for  a  law  which  he  hoped  would  be  effective  in  con- 
firming the  liberties  of  those  so  recently  enslaved.  At  the 
time  this  was  the  general  sentiment  of  the  North. 


Il8  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES. 

The  Union  League  Club  of  New  York  adopted  resolu- 
tions affirming  that  the  passage  of  this  bill  was  to  be  rec- 
ognized as  an  important  step  in  securing  to  all  the  people 
the  rights  and  immunities  consonant  with  republican 
government,  and  tendering  the  thanks  of  the  Club  to  all 
members  of  Congress  who  voted  in  its  favor. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  made  the  channel  of  communication 
with  Congress  for  varied  interests. 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New  York  presented 
through  him  its  pleas  for  the  preservation  of  the  harbor  of 
the  great  city,  and  its  remonstrances  against  certain  feat- 
ures of  the  tariff  in  relation  to  imports.  Dealers  in  leather, 
in  sugars,  and  manufacturers  of  stoves,  asked  him  to  call 
official  attention  to  their  wants.  He  brought  into  the 
House  a  petition  praying  that  books  imported  for  literary 
institutions  and  the  encouragement  of  the  fine  arts  be  ad- 
mitted free  of  duty ;  also  a  petition  from  the  fire  insurance 
companies  of  New  York  to  obtain  exemption  from  oppres- 
sive internal  revenue  taxes.  He  presented  the  concurrent 
resolutions  of  the  legislature  of  New  York  desiring  the 
continued  use  of  Government  ships  for  hospital  purposes 
at  quarantine.  He  submitted  a  resolution  requesting  the 
President  to  communicate  information  respecting  the  action 
of  the  papal  authorities  in  forbidding  public  religious  wor- 
ship at  the  American  Embassy  in  Rome.  He  reported  a 
bill  for  the  re-establishment  of  lighthouses  and  other  aids 
of  navigation  along  the  Southern  coasts.  He  introduced  a 
memorial  urging  an  appropriation  for  the  payment  of  the 
officers  and  crew  of  the  "  Kearsarge  "  for  the  destruction 
of  the  Rebel  cruiser  "  Alabama ;  "  also  a  bill  for  the  relief 
of  Rear-Admiral  Hiram  Paulding. 

In  his  remarks  upon  the  Niagara  Ship  Canal  Mr.  Dodge 
says :  — 

"  Notwithstanding  the  fears  of  the  Canal  Commissioners  of  my 
own  State,  I  shall  cheerfully  vote  for  this  bill,  because  I  believe 
the  prosperity  of  the  State  and  city  of  New  York  is  identified  with 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  119 

that  of  the  West.  Just  in  proportion  as  Illinois  and  other  Western 
States  are  able  to  produce,  and  then  dispose  of  their  products  at  a 
profit,  will  they  traffic  with  the  city  of  New  York  and  use  our 
canals  and  railroads.  I  shall  vote  with  the  firm  conviction  that  the 
prosperity  of  the  country  is  the  prosperity  of  New  York." 

When  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  was  urging  its 
claims,  Mr.  Dodge  supported  the  bill. 

"  I  presume,  sir,  when  the  Congress  of  1864  granted  the  charter 
for  the  construction  of  this  road,  it  was  in  view  of  the  fact  that  its 
completion  was  calculated  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  country. 
The  Government  not  only  had  unproductive  lands  to  improve,  but 
it  looked  to  the  vast  population  settling  on  the  Pacific  coasts.  It 
looked  to  Oregon,  nearly  a  thousand  miles  north  of  San  Francisco. 
It  looked  to  the  mineral  resources  which  this  road  would  open  for 
development.  Both  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  and  the  Northern 
Pacific  should  be  completed.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
the  aid  granted  by  Congress  to  the  Central  Pacific  has  done  as 
much  as  any  other  thing  to  give  substantial  credit  to  the  financial 
standing  of  our  Government  both  in  this  country  and  Europe. 
People  know  there  is  in  the  centre  of  this  continent  an  immense 
deposit  of  the  precious  metals,  and  they  know,  if  this  road 
is  built,  that  instead  of  producing,  as  we  have  in  the  last  ten 
years,  $1,000,000,000,  we  shall  get  out,  for  ten  years  to  come, 
$2,000,000,000;  and  we  shall  have  this  gold  and  silver  as  the 
basis  not  only  for  circulation  in  our  own  country,  but  to  pay  our 
bonds  here  and  in  foreign  countries." 

He  also  urged  an  appropriation  to  carry  out  a  contract 
to  faciliate  telegraphic  communication  with  the  Pacific 
coast;  he  held  it  to  be  a  matter  of  simple  justice. 

"  This  appropriation  of  $40,000  is  to  fulfil  a  contract  with  the 
Telegraph  Company,  made,  as  I  understand,  five  or  six  years  ago, 
when  there  was  no  telegraph  line  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
States.  To  aid  in  constructing  a  line  from  the  Missouri  River  to 
San  Francisco,  the  Government  was  to  pay  this  sum  every  year  for 
ten  years.  The  money  has  been  paid  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
the  Company  has  regularly  transmitted  messages  under  the  terms  of 


I2O  CONGRESSIONAL   SPEECHES. 

the  contract.  In  addition  to  this  line,  recently  interrupted  by  In- 
dian depredations,  the  Company  has  built  a  new  line,  and  Govern- 
ment despatches  are  sent  over  it  every  day.  Thus  we  have  the 
telegraphic  intercourse  with  the  Pacific  States  for  which  the  appro- 
priation was  ordered ;  and  yet  gentlemen  seem  to  think  it  is  of 
no  consequence  whether  we  shall  carry  out  this  contract  or  not.  I 
trust  the  appropriation  will  not  be  stricken  out  without  full  consid- 
eration on  the  part  of  the  House." 

• 
Mr.  Dodge's  views  in  regard  to  national  finances  appear 

in  his  remarks  upon  the  scheme  for  the  redemption  of  the 
compound-interest  notes.  He  was  strongly  opposed  to 
inflation  of  the  currency. 

"  I  am  prepared  to  vote  for  the  report  of  the  Committee ;  I 
think  it  will  give  more  satisfaction  to  the  entire  community  than 
to  pass  an  amendment  to  issue  $140,000,000  more  of  green- 
backs. There  is  great  anxiety  in  the  country  now  lest  in  some 
way  this  Congress  shall  adopt  some  resolution  for  the  increase 
and  further  inflation  of  the  currency.  The  currency  cannot  be 
disturbed  at  all  if  this  bill  becomes  a  law,  for  the  notes  now  to  be 
redeemed  bearing  six  per  cent  interest  will  be  substituted  by  inter- 
est-bearing notes  of  three  and  sixty-five  hundredths  per  cent.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  you  issue  the  greenbacks,  I  believe  the  Govern- 
ment, not  to  say  the  country,  in  the  purchases  to  be  made  during 
the  coming  year,  will  lose  more  than  the  $3,000,000  of  interest 
which  it  will  allow  the  banks.  No  plan  can  be  devised  which  will 
give  such  ease  to  the  anxious,  and  provide  for  the  $140,000,000 
of  compound  interest  notes,  as  to  pass  this  bill.  They  will  be  sub- 
stituted immediately,  and  there  will  be  no  inflation  of  the  currency ; 
but  if  some  provision  is  not  made,  the  banks  will  be  obliged  to 
substitute  greenbacks,  and  there  will  be  a  contraction  of  over 
$100,000,000." 

As  a  merchant  and  citizen  of  New  York,  as  well  as  one 
of  its  representatives,  Mr.  Dodge  took  special  interest  in 
the  passage  of  the  bill  to  secure  the  present  site  for  the 
General  Post-Office  in  that  city.  It  may  also  be  added 
that  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  propose  and  urge  the  sub- 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  121 

sequent  enlargement  of  the  plans  for  the  building.     Dur- 
ing the  discusion  in  the  House,  he  said :  — 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  this  matter  of  a  post-office  in  the  city  of  New 
York  is  one  of  national  interest.  It  is  not  merely  a  post-office  for 
the  accommodation  of  citizens  of  New  York,  but  for  the  benefit  of 
the  entire  country.  The  building  now  occupied  is  the  old  Dutch 
Church,  transformed  into  a  post-office,  and  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
convenient places  for  such  a  purpose  that  can  possibly  be  con- 
ceived for  a  city  of  the  magnitude  of  New  York.  The  vast  increase 
of  business  in  that  city  demands  a  post-office  large  enough  to  do 
the  business  rapidly,  conveniently,  and  economically. 

"  Only  a  few  years  ago  we  had  our  mails  from  Europe  once  a 
month  by  steamers.  When  they  came  tri-monthly  we  felt  that  it 
was  a  great  increase.  We  now  have  our  steamers  almost  daily  from 
various  parts  of  Europe ;  and  I  noticed  that  on  Saturday  last  there 
were  twelve  large  steamships  cleared  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
each  of  them  carrying  a  mail.  Within  the  last  ten  years  in  the 
city  of  New  York  the  daily  mail  has  increased  from  thirty  to  a 
hundred  tons. 

"  The  property  now  offered  by  the  Corporation  of  New  York  to 
the  United  States  Government  for  a  post-office  and  for  the 
United  States  courts,  at  the  nominal  sum  of  $500,000,  would  sell 
at  public  auction  to-morrow  for  from  three  to  five  million  dollars. 
It  is  an  opportunity  such  as  the  Government  can  seldom  obtain. 
It  is  the  most  feasible,  the  most  eligible  spot  in  the  city  for  the 
purpose  ;  and  although  there  is  great  objection  to  using  a  portion 
of  our  public  park  for  a  post-office,  yet  such  is  the  necessity,  and 
such  the  desire  to  accommodate  the  United  States  Government, 
that  the  Corporation  has  yielded  a  plot  of  ground  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  public  park  equal  to  twenty-six  lots.  It  is  such  a  favorable 
opportunity  that  I  trust  the  House  will  see  the  importance  of 
embracing  it  without  delay." 

In  the  prolonged  debate  over  the  tariff  bill  Mr.  Dodge 
was  frequently  heard.  He  was  an  importer,  a  manufac- 
turer, and  a  merchant.  He  had  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  principles  and  also  of  the  details  of  the  subject.  His 
efforts,  however,  were  not  so  much  directed  to  specific  or 


122  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES. 

personal  interests  as  to  measures  which  he  believed  to  be 
for  the  welfare  of  all  classes  and  sections. 

When  the  tax  upon  cotton  was  under  consideration,  Mr. 
Dodge  said :  — 

"  It  strikes  me  that  the  subject  before  the  House  to-night  has  a 
wider  range  than  has  been  given  to  it  in  this  debate.  While  we 
are  looking  at  the  income  to  be  derived  from  cotton  alone,  we 
must  not  forget  that  cotton  is  the  basis  upon  which  our  chief  im- 
portations are  to  be  made  in  the  future,  and  on  any  provision  we 
make  for  the  payment  of  the  public,  debt  we  look  to  the  duties  on 
imports.  We  cannot  have  large  importations  unless  we  have  some 
large  article  to  export.  There  is  nothing  to  my  mind  more  im- 
portant than  that  our  country  should  gain  as  soon  as  possible  the 
position  we  held  in  European  markets  previous  to  the  war.  We 
must  not  forget  that  during  these  five  years  gigantic  efforts  have 
been  made  to  cultivate  cotton  in  India  ;  and  while  once  they  were 
at  great  disadvantage  there  on  account  of  the  distance  and  cost  of 
transportation,  now,  by  means  of  railroads  built  by  English  capital, 
immense  amounts  of  cotton  are  produced.  We  must  at  the  earliest 
date  return  to  our  normal  condition  and  raise  in  the  United  States 
not  only  twenty-five  hundred  thousand,  but  five  millions  of  bales. 
The  price  of  cotton  then  cannot  be  sustained  above  twelve  and  a 
half  cents  per  pound." 

Mr.  Dodge  advocated  protection  to  the  iron  industries 
of  the  country.  In  relation  to  the  tax  on  railroad  iron,  he 
says :  — 

"  I  am  confident  there  is  no  portion  of  the  country  so  deeply 
concerned  in  the  increase  of  our  iron  interests,  and  particularly  of 
railroad  iron,  as  the  West.  The  State  of  Iowa,  twelve  hundred 
miles  from  the  sea-coast,  will  gain  more  by  the  successful  increase 
of  railroad  interests  of  the  country  than  almost  any  other  State. 
Within  the  last  five  years  there  has  been  a  vast  enlargement  of  the 
capacity  for  rolling  iron  in  this  country.  I  differ  from  my  colleague 
from  New  York  city  [Mr.  Raymond]  in  regard  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  iron  interests  of  this  country.  I  know  that  for  the  last  eighteen 
months  those  interests  have  been  far  from  prosperous.  But  during 
the  early  part  of  the  war  the  iron  interests  were  prosperous,  and  at 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  123 

that  time  the  railroad  iron  mills  of  this  country  increased  rapidly. 
The  railroad  interests  of  the  West  are  stimulating  the  production 
of  railroad  iron  in  the  West.  There  are  now  rolling-mills  in 
Chicago,  in  St.  Louis,  and  other  places. 

"  It  will  be  more  to  the  advantage  of  the  people  of  the  West 
than  to  any  other  portion  of  our  people  to  secure  railroad  iron 
made  from  the  best  quality  of  iron.  Railroad  interests  for  the  last 
fifteen  years  have  suffered  immeasurably  from  the  poor  quality  of 
the  railroad  iron  imported  into  the  country.  They  have  had  the 
products  of  the  cinders  of  the  mountains  of  Wales  converted  into 
rails  and  brought  here.  The  result  has  been  the  imposition  of  a 
vast  expense  upon  the  railroads.  We  want  to  develop  the  manu- 
facture of  railroad  iron  from  the  very  best  quality  of  iron.  It  is 
of  more  consequence  to  railroads  that  they  secure  the  first  quality 
of  rails  than  that  they  shall  procure  them  at  a  low  price.  Grant 
the  protection  now  proposed,  and  railroad  iron-mills  will  spring 
up  all  over  the  West,  not  only  providing  new  rails  which  are 
wanted  for  the  construction  of  new  roads,  but  re-rolling  the  old 
rails  and  perpetuating  in  the  cheapest  possible  manner  all  the 
mighty  railroad  interests  of  the  West." 

He  urged  an  increase  of  duty  on  certain  grades  of  steel 
wire  on  the  ground  that  otherwise  the  more  than  two  hun- 
dred thousand  people  engaged  in  its  manufacture  might 
be  turned  out  of  employment. 

Mr.  Dodge's  position  on  the  temperance  question  natu- 
rally led  him  to  oppose  any  attempt  to  diminish  taxation 
upon  the  manufacture  of  liquors.  In  the  Committee  of  the 
Whole  he  said  :  — 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  all  that  we  require  in  regard  to  this  question  of 
whiskey  is  a  law  sufficient  to  find  out  the  small  distilleries.  I  fail 
to  perceive  the  force  of  the  suggestion  made  by  the  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  that  a  small  tax  of  twenty-five 
dollars  will  induce  men  who  are  carrying  on  an  illicit  traffic  in  cel- 
lars and  garrets  to  come  fonvard  and  make  known  the  fact  that 
they  are  engaged  in  this  business.  I  hope,  sir,  that  we  shall  fix 
a  tax  so  large  and  frame  a  law  so  stringent  that  every  manufacturer 
of  distilled  spirits,  whether  he  makes  a  thousand  gallons  a  day  or 


124  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES 

five  gallons  a  day,  will  be  found  out,  so  that  the  Government  shall 
receive  from  him  the  entire  amount  of  revenue  contemplated  by 
the  law. 

"  We  may  rest  assured,  sir,  that  a  tax  of  $25  will  never 
bring  to  light  men  who  are  seeking  to  carry  on  an  illicit  traffic. 
If  the  tax  be  fixed  at  $1,000,  or  $1,500,  there  would  be  an  object 
in  finding  them  out.  In  the  city  of  New  York  we  have  now 
a  law  fixing  the  license  at  $200  and  $150.  Last  year,  when  only 
a  small  tax  of  $10  was  required  for  selling  liquor,  there  were  in  that 
city  more  than  nine  thousand  places  in  which  intoxicating  drinks 
were  sold.  Under  our  present  system,  where  it  is  an  object  to 
detect  every  individual  selling  liquor  without  a  license,  the  city  is 
receiving  $1,000,000  of  revenue  annually  from  this  source.  If 
men  will  manufacture,  if  men  will  sell,  if  men  will  drink  alcohol,  let 
them  pay  the  tax  which  the  Government  imposes." 

He  also  proposed  an  amendment  to  prevent  fraud  by 
the  importation  of  fruits  preserved  in  brandy,  intending  to 
import  brandy  rather  than  fruits.  This  measure  imposed 
a  duty  on  such  fruits  of  $2  per  gallon  and  thirty-five  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  the  duty  on  brandy  being  at  that  time 
$3.50  to  $4  per  gallon. 

In  the  interest  of  the  poorer  classes  Mr.  Dodge  opposed 
the  granting  to  any  horse-railroad  in  New  York  or  any 
other  large  city  the  right  to  add  the  duty  or  tax  to  their 
rate  of  fare,  — 

"  The  remarks  of  my  colleague  from  New  York  [Mr.  Hotchkiss] 
may  be  very  correct  in  regard  to  the  railroads  in  the  smaller  towns 
and  cities ;  but  we  find  in  New  York  that  our  street-railroads  are 
very  oppressive.  They  have  obtained  a  right  to  run  through  our 
streets.  They  have  secured  valuable  franchises,  on  the  condition 
that  they  would  transport  people  from  the  lower  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  city,  —  the  poor  men  that  the  gentleman  refers  to,  the  me- 
chanics, the  men  who  cannot  afford  to  walk  two  or  three  miles  to 
their  business.  They  were  granted  these  franchises  because  they 
agreed  to  carry  passengers  at  a  given  fare.  If  this  amendment 
passes,  they  will  be  authorized  to  add  this  two  and  a  half  per  cent 
tax  upon  ail  these  poor  persons.  I  hope  the  amendment,  so  far 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  125 

as  horse-railroads  in  the  large  cities  are  concerned,  will  not  be 
adopted." 

He  carried  an  amendment  not  to  increase  the  duty  on 
"  crash,"  made  by  the  peasantry  of  Russia,  and  largely 
used  for  towelling  by  the  poorer  classes  in  America. 

He  presented  a  petition,  signed  by  the  working-men 
of  New  York  engaged  in  manufacturing  Italian  marble, 
complaining  of  the  excessive  duty  on  that  article. 

He  advocated  relieving  from  tonnage-duty  certain  ves- 
sels trading  from  California  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

At  the  close  of  the  entire  discussion  Mr.  Dodge  had  an 
opportunity — by  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Garfield  in  yielding 
a  portion  of  his  time  —  to  state  his  position  on  the  general 
question  of  the  tariff:  — 

"  Brought  up  in  my  youth  in  a  village  which  was  the  seat  of  a 
cotton-manufacturing  industry,  I  early  learned  to  sympathize  with 
what  was  known  as  '  the  American  system  ; '  and  from  that  day  to 
this  I  have  witnessed  great  excitement  and  predictions  of  ruin  to 
commerce  whenever  a  new  tariff  has  been  produced.  And  yet  we 
have  continued  to  prosper  under  each  successive  change ;  for 
whenever  any  one  article  manufactured  here  gained  such  a  posi- 
tion as  to  supplant  the  foreign  competitor,  some  other  article  was 
found  to  supply  its  place  in  the  list  of  imports,  —  and  thus  the  total 
amount  of  importations  from  abroad  has  gone  on  increasing,  until 
now,  under  the  present  tariff,  which  was  denounced  as  prohibitory, 
we  have  imported  a  larger  amount  the  last  year  than  in  any  pre- 
vious year.  I  am  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  commer- 
cial interests  of  the  city  I  in  part  represent  will  be  promoted  by 
the  prosperity  of  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing  interests,  and 
by  the  ability  of  the  people,  on  account  of  this  prosperity,  to  buy 
and  pay  for  the  vast  amount  of  imports  which  I  am  confident, 
notwithstanding  this  tariff,  will  continue  to  flow  to  this  country. 

"The  increased  duties  on  wool  and  woollen  goods  will  un- 
doubtedly stimulate  the  growth  of  wool  here  to  the  general  advan- 
tage. If  in  time  a  portion  of  the  coarser  fabrics  are  shut  out,  there 
will  be  increased  ability  in  the  South  and  West  to  purchase  the 
finer  foreign  goods. 


126  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES. 

"  The  duty  on  flax  will  not  only  encourage  the  manufacture  of 
the  cheaper  grades  of  linen,  but  furnish  means  to  pay  for  the  better 
article  made  abroad. 

"  The  duty  on  iron  will  stimulate  the  making  of  rails  in  the 
West  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  thus  save  the  cost 
of  transporting  wheat  twelve  hundred  miles  by  railroad,  and  then 
three  thousand  miles  across  the  Atlantic,  to  purchase  rails  to  build 
roads  in  the  very  vicinity  of  immense  beds  of  coal  and  iron,  the 
manufacture  of  which  will  create  a  home  market  for  the  wheat. 

"  There  are  many  things  in  the  bill  which  I  think  should  have 
been  amended.  The  duties  on  many  articles  are  unnecessarily 
large,  and  could  have  been  reduced  without  any  detriment  to  the 
country.  I  trust  they  will  yet  be  adjusted ;  but  in  view  of  the 
state  of  our  finances,  and  under  the  conviction  that  the  increased 
tariff  will,  notwithstanding  the  predictions  to  the  contrary,  secure 
us  an  amount  of  revenue  equal  to  the  estimates  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  I  shall  vote  for  the  bill,  although  I  had  hoped  it 
would  be  recommitted,  with  instructions  to  report  at  the  next 
session  of  Congress." 

Among  other  measures,  Mr.  Dodge  favored  a  uniform 
system  of  bankruptcy  throughout  the  United  States. 
He  also  voted  for  several  bills  which  were  carried  over 
the  veto  of  the  President,  the  most  important  being  a  bill 
for  "  the  extension  of  the  elective  franchise  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,"  so  as  to  include  people  of  color;  the  ad- 
mission into  the  Union  of  the  States  of  Colorado  and  of 
Nebraska;  the  bill  regulating  "  the  tenure  of  office;  "  and 
that  providing  "  for  the  more  efficient  government  of  the 
insurrectionary  States." 

The  absorbing  topic  of  discussion  before  the  country 
during  all  the  period  of  Mr.  Dodge's  congressional  service 
was  necessarily  the  adjustment  of  the  altered  relations  of 
the  late  Confederate  States.  It  devolved  upon  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Congress,  as  the  first  after  the  close  of  the  war,  to 
consider  and  decide  this  paramount  and  pressing  question. 
Intense  solicitude  in  regard  to  the  issue  existed  both  North 
and  South.  "  Reconstruction  "  was  the  word  upon  every 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  127 

lip.  "  What  shall  it  be  ? "  "  How  shall  it  be  accom- 
plished?" Mr.  Dodge  had  taken  the  deepest  interest  in 
every  measure  passed  for  the  protection  and  elevation  of 
the  freedmen.  In  this  larger  question  he  watched  with 
anxiety  a  growth  of  opinion  and  a  proposed  basis  of  settle- 
ment that  seemed  to  him  full  of  peril.  The  discussion 
came  up  in  Congress  on  "  the  bill  to  provide  for  restoring 
to  the  States  lately  in  insurrection  their  full  political  rights." 
Mr.  Dodge  addressed  the  House  at  the  session  of  Jan.  21, 
1867:  — 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  it  was  my  purpose  to  prepare  some  remarks 
to  submit  to  the  House  in  the  morning;  but  I  understand  the 
debate  is  to  close  this  evening,  and  I  shall  have  no  other  oppor- 
tunity. I  therefore  embrace  the  present  moment  to  give  some 
reasons  why  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  vote  for  the  bill  or  the 
amendment.  But  I  trust  in  the  remarks  I  am  about  to  make  I 
shall  not  be  accused  of  being  a  renegade  to  party,  —  that  I  shall  not 
be  accused  of  going  with  those  who  are  considered  as  enemies  of 
the  best  interests  of  the  country,  for  I  claim  to  be  as  loyal  as  any 
other  man. 

"Mr.  RADFORD  (Democrat).  —  To  whom  does  the  gentleman 
refer  as  '  enemies  of  the  country '  ?  Does  he  mean  gentlemen  on 
this  side  of  the  House  ? 

"  Mr.  DODGE.  —  Not  at  all ;  and  I  am  glad  to  be  interrupted  to 
make  the  disclaimer. 

"  I  differ,  Mr.  Speaker,  entirely  with  this  side  of  the  House  in 
assuming,  as  they  do,  that  the  States  lately  in  rebellion  are  out  of 
the  Union.  I  am  not  a  constitutional  lawyer,  and  not  prepared  to 
argue  the  question  in  a  constitutional  way.  Looking  at  it  in  a 
common-sense  way,  I  think  we  have  already  recognized  these  States 
as  States  in  the  Union  by  submitting  to  them  the  constitutional 
amendment  for  the  abolishment  of  slavery. 

"  I  assume,  sir,  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  have  constitution- 
ally ratified  that  amendment  without  being  States  in  the  Union. 
It  was  because  they  were  States  that  it  was  submitted  to  them. 
At  the  last  session  we  recognized  that  although  they  had  in  a  cer- 
tain sense  lost  their  relations  to  the  Government,  they  were  still 
States  in  the  Union.  In  a  discussion  in  this  House  in  1862  on  the 


128  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES. 

admission  of  West  Virginia,  this  whole  subject  was  very  fully  con- 
sidered. It  appears  to  me  that  the  State  of  Virginia  was  recog- 
nized then  as  a  State,  and  the  Government  under  Governor  Peir- 
point  was  regarded  as  the  constitutional  Government,  competent 
to  give  its  assent  to  the  division  of  a  portion  of  its  territory  and 
have  it  formed  into  a  new  State. 

"Then,  again,  we  have  treated  them  as  States  by  sending  to 
them  the  various  amendments  to  the  Constitution  that  passed  this 
House  at  its  last  session.  I  am  sure  that  a  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  House  at  least  fully  expected  that  these  amendments 
would  be  sent  to  the  legislatures  of  the  Southern  States  for  ratifi- 
cation. If  they  had  seen  fit  to  ratify  them ;  had  it  not  been  for 
the  influences  that  were  thrown  around  them  in  high  quarters ; 
had  it  not  been  for  the  Philadelphia  Convention  and  all  the  influ- 
ences that  emanated  from  that ;  had  it  not  been  the  expectation 
on  the  part  of  the  South  that  there  would  be  another  party  in  the 
country  which  would  sustain  the  policy  of  the  President ;  had  they 
not  been  flattered  and  made  to  believe  that  if  they  refused  to  ratify 
the  amendments  they  would  yet  be  admitted  to  representation  in 
Congress,  —  I  verily  believe  that  a  sufficient  number  of  the  South- 
ern States  would  have  ratified  the  amendments  to  have  made  them, 
with  the  help  of  the  Northern  States,  a  part  of  the  organic  law  of 
the  country. 

"  I  regret  that  these  amendments  could  not  have  been  ratified. 
I  believe  they  were  wisely  designed  to  promote  that  peace  and 
harmony  which  are  necessary  for  the  best  interest  of  this  entire 
country.  They  do  not  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  States  in  regard  to  suffrage,  but  they  do  make  a  proper 
arrangement  for  the  changed  condition  of  things  resulting  from 
the  emancipation  of  slaves  and  the  destruction  of  slavery.  They 
declare  that  if  any  portion  of  the  people  recently  made  free  by  the 
constitutional  amendment,  and  thus  become  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  are  deprived  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  they  shall  not  count  in 
the  basis  of  representation.  We  all  know  from  the  past  history 
of  the  South  that  their  desire  has  ever  been  to  secure  their  full 
amount  of  political  influence  in  the  country ;  and  that  desire  would 
have  led  them  ere  long  to  pass  such  laws  as  would  have  even- 
tually enfranchised  the  negro  race.  They  have  not  seen  fit  to  do 
it.  These  amendments  were  sent  forth  to  the  country  as  the  result 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  129 

of  six  long  months  of  careful  deliberation  on  the  part  of  the  Joint- 
Committee  on  Reconstruction. 

"  The  loyal  portion  of  the  country,  —  I  beg  pardon  of  my  col- 
league (Mr.  Radford)  ;  I  will  amend  by  saying  the  radical  portion 
of  the  country,  which,  I  presume,  will  satisfy  him,  —  the  radical, 
or  Union,  portion  of  the  people  were  almost  universally  satisfied 
with  the  report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen,  resulting  in  the  pas- 
sage of  the  joint-resolution  amending  the  Constitution.  I  believe, 
Mr.  Speaker,  that  if  these  resolutions  had  been  adopted,  had  been 
ratified  by  the  States  and  become  a  part  of  the  organic  law  of  the 
land,  there  would  have  been  universal  satisfaction  throughout  the 
country.  When  it  was  found  that  they  were  not  likely,  at  present 
at  least,  to  be  adopted  by  the  Southern  States,  the  people  looked 
anxiously  to  the  deliberations  of  this  House  to  see  what  we  should 
propose  next.  The  country  is  looking  at  us  now  as  the  focal  point 
from  which  is  to  emanate  something  that  shall  give  peace,  har- 
mony, and  prosperity  to  the  nation,  and  perpetuity  to  the  Govern- 
ment ;  and  now,  when  the  session  is  half  over,  we  are  about  to 
present  to  the  country  the  bill  of  the  honorable  gentleman  from 
Pennsylvania  (Mr.  Stevens),  or  the  substitute  offered  by  the 
gentleman  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Ashley). 

"  I  have  very  carefully  read  these  two  bills,  or  the  bill  and  the 
proposed  amendment,  and  I  fail  to  find  in  either  the  original  bill 
or  in  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  anything  that  to 
my  mind  promises  peace,  union,  and  happiness  as  the  result  of  its 
passage.  I  hold  that  it  is  of  the  very  first  importance  that  at  the 
earliest  possible  day  there  should  be  a  reconciliation  —  let  me  use 
that  term  —  between  the  North  and  South ;  that  there  should  be 
a  permanent  reconciliation  ;  that  as  far  as  possible,  considering  the 
nature  of  man,  we  should  forget  and  forgive  the  past  so  far  as  it  is 
right  and  proper.  And  in  making  laws  here,  having  that  in  view, 
we  should  be  careful  not  to  pass  those  that  from  the  very  nature 
of  man  must  be  calculated  to  irritate  and  perpetuate  the  very 
difficulties  that  now  tend  to  separate  us. 

"  I  hope,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  in  the  very  desultory  remarks  I  am 
making  I  shall  not  be  understood  as  having  no  sympathy  with  the 
loyal  men  of  the  South  who  have  been,  and  still  are,  suffering 
under  the  continued  rule  of  the  majority  there,  or  as  having  no 
sympathy  with  the  emancipated  colored  man,  or  as  having  no  feel- 

9 


130  CONGRESSIONAL   SPEECHES. 

ing  for  those  who  are  being  shot  down,  imprisoned,  whipped,  and 
deprived  of  their  rights  under  the  law.  I  feel  as  much  sympathy 
for  them  as  any  gentleman  on  this  floor ;  and  yet  I  cannot  divest 
myself  of  the  belief  that,  to  a  certain  extent,  just  such  a  state  of 
things  was  naturally  to  be  expected  from  so  sudden  a  change  in 
the  civil  and  social  relations  which  have  existed  in  the  South  for 
the  last  hundred  years.  It  was  hardly  to  be  anticipated  —  it 
would  have  been  a  miracle  if  it  had  been  so  —  that  immediately 
upon  this  sudden  and  almost  instantaneous  severing  of  the  relations 
which  had  existed  between  master  and  slave  there  should  have 
been  nothing  to  irritate,  that  there  should  have  been  no  men  of 
such  unnatural  feelings  as  would  lead  them  to  refuse  to  do  justice 
to  the  emancipated  negroes.  We  must  all  know  that  there  are 
men,  North  as  well  as  South,  who  are  hard-hearted,  unfeeling,  — 
men  that  seem  to  have  no  sense  of  right  or  justice. 

"  But,  sir,  I  do  not  say  this  as  an  apology  for  the  wrongs  done 
to  the  freedmen,  or  for  the  cruel  manner  in  which  they  have  been 
and  still  are  treated,  in  defiance  of  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  which  we 
passed  last  year,  and  in  despite  of  the  provisions  of  the  Freedmen's 
Bureau  Bill,  which  were  all  calculated  to  shield  the  freedman  from 
the  dangers  which  surround  him.  I  make  no  apology  for  the 
wrongs  done  to  them.  What  is  wanted  now  is  something  that  will 
secure  quiet  and  better  feeling  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
and  at  the  same  time  better  feeling  between  Southern  men  and  the 
freedmen.  And  we  want  this  because  the  Southern  country  is  part 
of  our  own.  '.We  fought  for  four  long  years  that  we  might  continue 
one  undivided  people ;  and  if  these  Southern  States  are  still  to  be 
kept  year  after  year  in  this  state  of  disquietude,  we  at  the  North, 
sympathizing  with  them  in  our  social  and  business  relations,  must 
to  a  certain  extent  suffer  with  them.  We  want  to  devise  some 
plan,  equitable,  just,  and  reasonable,  that  will,  if  possible,  bring 
about  a  state  of  peace,  union,  and  harmony  between  the  North 
and  the  South.  I  cannot  see,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  either  in  the  bill 
or  the  amendment  there  is  anything  calculated  to  bring  about  such 
a  result.  In  the  constitutional  amendment  we  made  a  proper 
provision  for  the  punishment,  if  I  may  use  that  expression,  of  the 
prominent  men  who  were  engaged  in  the  Rebellion.  We  disfran- 
chised them  for  a  certain  length  of  time  from  the  right  to  hold 
office  under  the  Government. 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  131 

"  The  bill  proposed  here,  with  the  amendment,  provides  that 
every  man  who  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  1861,  and  who  has 
engaged  in  any  way  or  held  office  under  the  so-called  Confederate 
Government,  or  who  has  taken  an  oath  to  support  that  Govern- 
ment, —  which,  if  I  understand  it,  includes  all  the  private  soldiers 
in  the  Confederate  army,  —  shall  be  disfranchised.  They  are  to 
be  deprived  of  all  civil  rights,  and  to  be  placed  in  the  position  of 
aliens.  They  can  only  acquire  the  rights  of  citizenship,  not  as 
foreigners  acquire  them,  —  by  giving  notice  of  their  intention  to 
become  citizens  in  five  years,  —  but  by  taking  an  oath,  under  the 
most  fearful  penalties,  that  from  March,  1864,  until  the  close  of 
the  war  they  would  have  been  ready,  if  opportunity  had  offered, 
to  do  anything  to  bring  the  war  to  a  close;  that  they  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  war  after  that  time ;  and  that  they  would, 
if  opportunity  had  presented  itself,  have  accepted  the  amnesty 
offered  by  President  Lincoln  and  left  the  Confederate  Government. 
How  large  a  proportion  of  the  Southern  people  could  come  for- 
ward and  honestly  take  that  oath  ?  The  result  of  the  passage  of 
this  bill,  if  it  shall  become  operative,  will  be  to  disfranchise  nearly 
the  entire  white  population  of  the  Southern  States,  and  at  the 
same  time  enfranchise  the  colored  people  and  give  them  the 
virtual  control  in  the  proposed  organization  of  the  new  State 
governments. 

"  I  submit  as  a  dictate  of  common-sense,  taking  mankind  as  we 
find  them,  as  we  know  they  are,  is  it  natural  to  suppose  that  the 
passage  of  such  a  law  as  this  will  be  calculated  to  promote  in- 
creased friendly  relations  between  the  North  and  South,  to  create 
a  better  feeling  between  the  white  and  the  colored  population  ? 
I  assume  that  that  should  be  the  object  of  the  laws  which  we  pass, 
as  well  as  to  protect  in  all  their  civil  rights  the  loyal  white  man  and 
the  freedman.  I  can  see  nothing  either  in  the  original  bill  or  in 
the  proposed  substitute  which  is  calculated  to  increase  or  create 
any  good  feeling  between  the  North  and  South.  It  is  not  natural 
that  they  should  love  us  while  we  are  putting  them  under  such 
a  ban.  Under  this  bill,  if  they  shall  ever  be  formed  into  States, 
all  the  men  who  have  ever  held  office  under  the  Confederate 
Government  are  to  be  entirely  disfranchised. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  if  we  had  gone  before  our  State  at  the  last  elec- 
tion, and  had  proposed  as  a  plan  for  reconstruction  and  settling 


132  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES. 

the  difficulties  existing  between  the  North  and  South  the  plan 
contained  in  this  bill  and  the  amendment,  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  we  should  have  lost  the  State  of  New  York.  I  do  not  know 
what  was  the  course  pursued  in  other  States,  but  when  we  went 
into  the  canvass  in  the  State  of  New  York  we  took  our  stand  upon 
the  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  and  assumed  that  we  intended 
to  hold  the  South  where  they  were  until  they  should  see  fit  to  ratify 
that  amendment. 

"  Mr.  RADFORD.  —  Will  my  colleague  allow  me  to  ask  him  a 
question  ? 

"  Mr.  DODGE.  —  Certainly. 

"  Mr.  RADFORD.  —  I  desire  to  know  if  the  gentleman  is  now  in 
favor  of  admitting  the  Southern  States  to  a  representation  here  in 
Congress,  provided  they  ratify  the  amendment  to  the  Constitution  ? 

"  Mr.  DODGE.  —  I  say  unhesitatingly  that  I  should,  provided 
they  send  loyal  men  here. 

"  Mr.  RADFORD.  —  That  is  my  religion. 

"  Mr.  DODGE.  —  I  believe  if  this  Congress  shall  abandon  the 
idea  of  requiring  the  ratification  of  the  constitutional  amendment 
passed  by  the  last  session  of  Congress,  and  shall  pass  these  bills 
and  they  become  laws,  the  people  of  the  country  will  not  be  satis- 
fied. As  they  examine  them  they  will  see  provision  made  for  the 
military  support  of  the  new  State  organizations  contemplated. 
They  will  see  that  by  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio 
(Mr.  Spalding)  in  all  these  ten  States  martial  law  is  to  be  declared, 
and  we  are  to  go,  if  not  into  actual  war  again  with  the  South,  at 
least  to  put  the  South  under  martial  rule  ;  that  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  is  to  be  suspended,  —  that  writ  so  precious  to  us  all  as  citi- 
zens. They  will  see  that  this  is  not  likely  in  the  nature  of  things  to 
bring  about  an  early  reorganization  of  the  South.  The  commercial, 
the  manufacturing,  and  the  agricultural  interests  of  this  country,  as 
they  look  at  this  matter,  will  see  in  it  a  continuance  of  taxation 
necessary  to  support  this  military  array  sent  to  these  ten  States. 

"  Then  in  connection  with  this  they  will  see  the  attempt  which 
is  now  being  made  in  this  House  to  impeach  the  President.  I 
speak  of  the  impeachment,  not  because  I  should  not  be  as  ready 
as  any  man  in  the  House  to  impeach  the  President  if  there  can  be 
specific  charges  brought  against  him  which  will  enable  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  to  find  a  true  bill  against  him.  But  looking 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  133 

at  it  in  view  of  the  present  position  of  the  party  to  which  I  belong, 
I  think  it  a  most  unfortunate  move.  I  hold  that  the  President  of 
the  United  States  has  been  impeached  by  the  country ;  that  he 
stands  impeached  to-day ;  and  that  this  effort  will  simply  tend  to 
galvanize  him  again  into  life,  to  give  him  an  amount  of  sympathy 
which  he  never  would  get  otherwise.  I  think  it  a  most  unfortunate 
move  in  a  party  point  of  view,  but  of  vastly  more  importance  in  its 
relations  to  the  great  interests  of  the  country,  which  are  being 
paralyzed  in  view  of  this  unprecedented  movement. 

Sir,  if  this  bill  should  pass,  and  if  we  go  on  with  the  impeach- 
ment movement  and  carry  it  to  the  Senate,  you  will  find  that  all 
the  great  interests  of  this  country  will  measurably  stand  still,  wait- 
ing the  result  of  these  movements.  The  manufacturing,  commer- 
cial, and  agricultural  interests  of  the  country  are  now  looking  to 
this  House  for  that  support  which  may  be  given  by  an  increased 
tariff;  but  they  will  look  in  vain  for  a  resuscitation  of  business  and 
return  to  a  healthy  state  of  things  so  long  as  the  public  mind  shall 
be  agitated  by  this  unexpected  and  unusual  measure  brought  for- 
ward in  this  House.  There  are  gentlemen  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  who  are  making  their  way  to  our  great  commercial  centres 
to  obtain  the  means  for  carrying  on  the  enterprises  so  necessary  to 
the  development  of  our  country.  But  when  they  go  to  the  capi- 
talists, asking  means  or  offering  for  sale  their  railroad  bonds,  when 
they  present  propositions  for  their  varied  enterprises,  they  will  find 
that  the  men  who  control  the  money  are  waiting  to  see  what  shall 
be  the  result  upon  the  interests  of  the  country  of  the  measures 
about  to  be  acted  upon  in  this  House.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  fact  is 
there  will  be  a  general  hesitation.  The  man  who  has  been  con- 
templating the  building  of  a  ship  will  stand  still  and  await  the 
development  of  these  measures.  The  merchant  about  to  send  his 
vessel  on  a  long  Eastern  voyage  will  hesitate  before  he  loads  his 
ship  and  sends  her  away  for  twelve  months. 

"Sir,  I  received  to-day  from  one  of  our  merchants  a  letter 
stating  that  on  Friday  last  he  met  with  some  gentlemen  who  are 
directors  of  a  benevolent  institution  of  which  he  is  the  treasurer, 
those  gentlemen  being  among  the  wealthiest  and  most  loyal  men 
of  our  country;  and  at  that  meeting  they  decided  that  $150,000 
placed  in  his  hands  for  investment,  and  which  they  had  at  a  pre- 
vious meeting  resolved  to  invest  in  United  States  securities,  should 


134  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES. 

be  deposited  in  the  Life  and  Trust  Company,  to  await  the  action 
of  this  House  on  these  important  measures  now  pending. 

"  Sir,  you  will  find  that  the  man  who  has  been  waiting  the  de- 
cline of  materials  to  build,  will  wait  still  longer.  The  result  will  be 
a  partial  paralysis  of  the  great  interests  of  the  whole  country,  and 
especially  if  this  bill  shall  pass,  and  if  the  other  measure  to  which 
I  have  referred  shall  be  pressed  to  a  decision. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  we  have  been  living  for  six  long  years  between 
hope  and  fear.  I  assure  you,  sir,  that  standing  here  to-day,  look- 
ing at  these  measures,  fraught,  as  I  believe,  with  so  much  danger 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  country,  I  feel  very  much  as  I  did  when 
I  stood  in  the  peace  conference  before  the  war  and  saw  the  dark 
clouds  that  were  gathering  over  our  country.  I  feel  that  we  are 
now  in  great  peril,  and  ought  not  to  look  simply  to  the  immediate 
enfranchisement  of  the  negro  race,  overlooking  all  the  other  great 
interests  of  the  country  which  are  dependent  upon  the  legislation 
we  may  adopt.  No  man  on  this  floor  is  more  strongly  in  favor 
than  I  am  of  protecting  the  best  interests  of  the  colored  man.  I 
voted  with  all  my  heart  for  their  enfranchisement  in  this  District, 
and  I  would  go  as  far  as  any  other  man  to  elevate  and  advance 
the  colored  race,  down-trodden  as  they  have  been  so  long.  But 
pass  this  bill,  and  I  cannot  see  that  it  will  be  productive  of  aught 
else  than  injury  to  the  colored  race.  We  need  to-day  measures 
which  shall  improve  their  condition,  which  shall  render  them  most 
valuable  as  citizens.  We  want  to  place  them  in  such  a  position 
that  their  labor  will  be  sought  after  as  a  matter  of  interest,  and  that 
they  may  receive  from  the  people  with  whom  they  have  so  long 
associated,  that  treatment  to  which  they  are  entitled.  But  the  very 
fact  that  the  white  population  of  the  South  by  this  bill  are  to  be 
almost  universally  degraded,  while  the  colored  men  are  elevated 
above  them,  is  not,  in  my  opinion,  calculated  at  all  to  promote  the 
best  interests  of  either. 

"  I  do  hope,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  neither  the  bill  of  the  gentleman 
from  Pennsylvania  nor  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio 
will  pass.  I  trust  that  some  other  plan  will  be  devised,  by  which 
the  loyal  men  in  the  South  and  the  freedmen  shall  be  protected  in 
their  civil  rights.  I  hope  that  we  shall  not  attempt  to  reorganize 
the  Southern  States  by  assuming  they  are  nothing  but  Territories, 
and  their  inhabitants  aliens. 


CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES.  135 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  trust  these  bills  will  be  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Reconstruction,  with  the  hope  that  they  may  be  able  to 
present  to  the  House  some  constitutional  plan  by  which  the  loyal 
men  of  the  South,  white  and  black,  may  be  protected  in  all  their 
rights  of  person  and  property,  and  which  may  put  an  effectual  stop 
to  the  injustice,  persecution,  and  murders  which  are  now  going 
on  in  all  parts  of  the  South,  apparently  without  restraint  from  the 
general  or  local  governments." 

Letters  were  received  by  Mr.  Dodge  from  merchants, 
bankers,  lawyers,  ministers,  and  others,  commending  his 
position,  and  thanking  him  for  the  wisdom,  courage,  and 
force  of  his  address. 

The  New  York  "  Journal  of  Commerce  "  referred  to  it 
in  these  terms :  — 

"  The  commercial  classes  in  New  York  were  exceedingly  glad 
to  read  the  brief  report  yesterday  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Dodge's  speech  in 
Congress  on  the  previous  day.  He  seems  to  have  cut  loose  from 
party  ties,  —  at  least  for  the  moment,  —  and  addressed  himself,  as 
an  experienced  New  York  merchant  should,  to  the  sober  truth  and 
the  pressing  necessities  of  the  country. 

"  It  is  refreshing  to  see  such  a  course  pursued ;  and  Mr.  Dodge 
will  find  that  he  has  done  very  much  to  establish  his  reputation 
among  his  fellow-citizens  here  by  his  plain  speaking." 

The  correspondent  of  the  Washington  "  National  Intel- 
ligencer" writes  from  New  York,  Feb.  5,  1867:  — 

"The  speech  of  Mr.  Dodge  on  Reconstruction  has  been  re- 
ceived here  with  great  favor.  The  main  features  of  this  speech 
are  approved  and  highly  commended  by  nine  tenths  of  the  busi- 
ness men  of  all  parties  in  this  city.  He  utters  the  sentiments  of 
the  great  majority  of  the  merchants  of  New  York  who  came  up  to 
the  support  of  the  Government  in  the  season  of  its  greatest  peril. 
He  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  constitutional  lawyer,  but  he  is  a  saga- 
cious man  of  business  of  long  experience  and  of  sound  common- 
sense,  animated  by  the  warmest  sentiments  of  patriotism  as  well 
as  Christian  philanthropy." 


136  CONGRESSIONAL  SPEECHES. 

The  progress  of  events  largely  justified  Mr.  Dodge's 
conclusions.  Long  after  he  had  left  Congress,  he  was 
heard  to  say  that  his  words  at  that  time  had  been  spoken 
in  the  fear  of  God,  against  party  policy,  and  that  after 
years  of  mature  deliberation  he  would  not  erase  one 
sentence  he  then  uttered. 

In  the  fall  of  1866  Mr.  Dodge  was  officially  informed 
that  he  had  been  unanimously  renominated  by  the  Con- 
gressional Convention  of  the  Union  Republican  citizens  of 
the  Eighth  District.  In  making  the  announcement,  the 
Committee  say :  — 

"  Apart  from  all  considerations  of  personal  respect  and  attach- 
ment, we  can  assure  you  that  the  action  of  this  Convention  has 
been  dictated  by  a  profound  sense  of  duty  towards  the  constitu- 
ency of  the  district,  in  the  fullest  belief  that  you  have  while  in 
Congress  been  efficient,  consistent,  and  faithful  to  the  high  trust 
confided  to  you.  It  is  our  earnest  hope,  and  in  the  expression  of 
it  we  but  utter  the  sentiments  of  the  loyal  Union  people  of  this 
whole  community,  that  you  will  accept  the  nomination." 

In  reply,  Mr.  Dodge  expressed  his  grateful  appreciation 
of  the  kind  approval  of  his  course,  and  his  regret  that 
circumstances  over  which  he  had  no  control,  and  involving 
other  than  pecuniary  considerations,  made  it  imperative 
that  he  should  not  be  absent  from  the  city  during  the 
sessions  of  the  next  Congress. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

TRAVELS. 

IF  one  could  speak  of  a  "  born  traveller,"  Mr.  Dodge 
would  be  entitled  to  that  distinction.  It  was  no  effort 
for  him  to  travel.  He  undertook  long  journeys  or  short 
without  hesitation.  He  not  only  had  the  common  enjoy- 
ment in  seeing  new  places  and  persons,  or  revisiting  familiar 
scenes  and  renewing  former  acquaintanceships,  but  he  knew 
how  to  reduce  the  fatigue  of  the  journey  itself  to  a  min- 
imum. He  could  make  himself  comfortable  —  and  others 
too  —  where  many  would  find  cause  for  complaint.  He 
was  enthusiastic  over  every  fresh  beauty  in  the  landscape, 
and  eager  to  learn  any  new  facts  respecting  the  character 
and  products  of  the  district  or  country,  the  condition  of  the 
people,  the  state  of  trade,  the  progress  of  education  or  reli- 
gion. He  could  talk  with  passengers  or  employes,  and  was 
always  ready  to  ask  or  answer  courteous  questions  on  terms 
of  pleasant  equality.  An  old  man  on  the  train,  or  an  unat- 
tended lady  or  sick  child,  was  sure  to  attract  his  notice 
and  call  out  some  offer  of  assistance.  His  genial  smile 
and  manifest  good-will  disarmed  suspicion  and  helped  to 
make  his  fellow-travellers  kindly  disposed  both  towards 
himself  and  each  other.  In  cases  of  delay,  danger,  or 
accident,  he  was  quick  to  give  encouragement  or  devise 
methods  of  relief.  Those  who  shared  in  any  of  his  journeys 
will  not  soon  forget  how  his  bright,  appreciative,  unselfish 
companionship  tended  to  lighten  the  ordinary  weariness 
of  the  way. 


138  TRAVELS. 

He  was  constantly  making  short  trips  to  neighboring 
cities,  —  to  Washington,  or  parts  of  Pennsylvania.  Once 
or  twice  each  year  he  usually  found  it  necessary  to  go  to 
Georgia,  —  perhaps  to  Texas,  —  to  Missouri,  Michigan, 
or  Canada. 

Business  for  himself  or  others,  or  some  temperance, 
missionary,  or  church  occasion,  would  generally  be  the 
motive;  for  he  rarely  undertook  a  journey  on  the  score 
of  health,  or  if  he  did,  the  other  objects  were  apt  to  be 
included  before  he  returned. 

Mrs.  Dodge  almost  invariably  accompanied  him,  for 
she  also  had  extraordinary  endurance,  and  would  seldom 
fail  to  discover  something  of  interest  on  any  route;  nor 
could  either  fully  enjoy  any  pleasure  unless  shared  by 
the  other,  while  their  mutual  dependence  was  all  the 
more  conspicuous  in  times  of  anxiety  and  trial.  She  was 
familiar  with  the  general  features  of  his  business  affairs, 
and  took  the  deepest  interest  in  all  his  benevolent  and 
religious  enterprises.  He  loved  to  talk  over  his  plans  with 
her,  and  knew  he  would  always  receive  wise  and  sympathetic 
counsel. 

They  crossed  the  Atlantic  together  several  times.  Busi- 
ness and  family  ties  combined  to  make  these  foreign  jour- 
neys more  frequent  and  attractive.  Mr.  Dodge's  partner 
at  Liverpool  was  Mr.  Daniel  James,  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Phelps,  James,  &  Co.,  and  his  wife  was  Mrs.  Dodge's 
eldest  sister. 

Their  first  voyage  was  in  the  good  ship  "  Ashburton." 
After  a  passage  of  some  twenty  days  they  were  becalmed 
off  Kinsale,  on  the  coast  of  Ireland,  and  finally  landed  in 
a  fishing-boat.  It  was  the  last  of  June,  and  in  the  days  of 
coaching,  which  made  the  drive  to  Dublin  most  delightful. 
On  the  way,  at  Cork,  they  called  upon  Father  Mathew, 
and  Mr.  Dodge  urged  him  to  visit  America  in  behalf  of 
the  temperance  cause.  They  made  excursions  through 
England  and  Wales,  and  a  short  visit  to  Paris,  being  absent 


TRAVELS.  1 39 

from  home  altogether  about  three  months.  Ten  years 
later  they  crossed  the  ocean  again,  but  only  to  remain 
a  few  weeks.  They  happened,  however,  to  be  in  Paris 
at  the  time  of  Queen  Victoria's  royal  entrance  on  her  first 
visit  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III. 

In  1858  they  enjoyed  a  longer  trip,  going  as  far  as  Italy 
to  see  Mr.  Dodge's  sister,  Mrs.  William  B.  Kinney,  whose 
husband  was  then  the  United  States  Charge"  d'Affaires  at 
the  Court  of  Turin. 

They  made  a  still  more  extended  tour  during  1871,  and 
1872.  Most  of  the  larger  countries  of  Europe  were  visited, 
as  also  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land.  They  were  able  to 
remain  at  Jerusalem  only  a  short  time,  but  long  enough 
to  see  the  chief  places  of  interest,  and  to  carry  away  lasting 
and  grateful  impressions.  At  Beirut  Mr.  Dodge  laid  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College.  At  Vienna 
and  Berlin  he  received  many  courtesies  from  his  old  friends, 
the  Hon.  John  Jay  and  the  Hon.  George  Bancroft,  the 
United  States  Ministers ;  and  in  Rome  he  was  present  at 
a  dinner  given  by  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field  to  the  Inter- 
national Telegraphic  Conference.  It  was  during  this 
journey  that  he  acted  as  one  of  the  American  delegates 
of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  to  petition  the  Emperor  of 
Russia,  then  at  Friedrichshofen,  Germany,  to  grant  full 
religious  liberty  to  the  persecuted  Esthonians  and  Livonians 
of  the  Baltic  provinces. 

In  England  he  made  a  number  of  addresses  at  temper- 
ance and  other  gatherings.  The  United  Kingdom  Alliance 
entertained  him  at  a  breakfast,  where  he  gave  a  somewhat 
full  account  of  the  progress  of  the  cause  in  America.  The 
British  branch  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  tendered  to  Mr. 
Dodge  and  a  number  of  other  members  of  the  organization 
in  the  United  States  a  dinner  at  Richmond,  the  President, 
the  Earl  of  Chichester,  presiding.  He  also  enjoyed  a  visit 
at  the  ancient  and  hospitable  country-seat  of  Sir  Harry 
Verney,  Croydon,  Buckinghamshire. 


140  TRAVELS. 

The  last  European  trip  was  made  in  1881,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dodge  being  absent  this  time  also  several  months.  They 
travelled  leisurely  through  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  parts 
of  England  and  Wales,  then  crossed  the  Channel  and 
spent  a  portion  of  the  summer  and  autumn  on  the  Conti- 
nent, going  as  far  as  Vienna,  where  they  visited  the  Hon. 
William  Walter  Phelps,  at  that  time  United  States  Minister 
to  Austria. 

While  in  England  Mr.  Dodge  had  constant  invitations 
to  be  present  at  public  and  social  gatherings  and  to  make 
addresses  for  various  objects.  During  the  World's  Confer- 
ence of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  he  spoke, 
with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  at  a  vast  meeting 
in  Exeter  Hall,  London,  presided  over  by  the  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge  attended  a  reception 
given  to  the  members  of  this  Conference  by  the  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,  the  Right  Hon.  William  McArthur,  M.  P. 
They  were  also  present  at  a  dinner  where  the  Lord  Mayor 
entertained  the  mayors  and  mayoresses  of  the  kingdom. 
They  were  guests  again  at  the  Mansion  House  on  a  more 
private  occasion.  They  attended  a  number  of  meetings  and 
entertainments  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  and  of  differ- 
ent temperance  organizations.  They  likewise  greatly  en- 
joyed seeing  once  more  many  old  friends,  —  among  them 
the  Rev.  Drs.  Newman  Hall,  Arthur,  Stoughton,  Harrison, 
Allon,  and  others,  with  Messrs.  Raper  and  Rae,  leaders 
in  the  temperance  reform.  In  London  Mr.  Dodge  was 
present  at  the  funeral  obsequies,  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
of  Dean  Stanley,  and  in  Paris  he  spoke  at  the  public  meet- 
ing of  American  citizens  called  on  receiving  tidings  of  the 
death  of  President  Garfield. 

In  Paris  also  Mr.  Dodge  received  the  injury  to  a  nerve 
in  the  foot  which  manifestly  reduced  his  strength  at  the 
time,  and  from  which  he  never  entirely  recovered. 

Early  in  the  following  year  (1882)  they  made  a  short 
trip  through  the  South,  and  in  April  started  with  a  small 


TRAVELS.  141 

company  of  family  friends  to  carry  out  their  long  cher- 
ished plan  of  a  trip  to  California.  Mr.  Dodge  enjoyed 
this  entire  journey  with  unusual  zest.  Most  of  it  was  over 
routes  altogether  new  to  him.  A  private  car,  with  sleeping 
and  eating  accommodations,  was  taken  from  Chicago,  and 
on  all  the  lines  the  railway  officials  extended  every  facility. 
At  San  Francisco  and  other  places  friends  were  waiting 
with  a  cordial  welcome.  Throughout  the  journey  no  acci- 
dent or  serious  detention  occurred  ;  the  health  of  the  party 
was  unimpaired,  and  each  day  brought  some  new  pleasure 
to  all. 

Mr.  Dodge  writes  from  Las  Vegas,  Hot  Springs :  — 

"  Here  we  are,  2,250  miles  from  home,  in  New  Mexico,  and 
just  one  week  since  we  left,  having  spent  three  days  at  Chicago, 
and  one  in  Kansas  City.  It  is  a  perfect  wonder  what  railroads  are 
doing  for  this  far-off  country,  which  but  for  them  would  still  be  one 
vast  wilderness." 

From  Santa  Fe",  May  2 :  — 

"  We  have  been  here  for  three  days,  amid  the  strange  sights  of 
this  the  oldest  city  of  our  country.  We  attended  the  Presbyterian 
Church  on  Sunday,  and  had  a  large  temperance  meeting  in  the 
evening.  We  have  visited  the  schools  and  mission  of  our  church ; 
and  one  day  drove  out  to  the  Indian  village,  some  ten  miles  away, 
and  saw  the  poor,  deluded  creatures  belonging  to  a  people  who  for 
three  hundred  years  have  been  under  Catholic  influences,  and  not 
one  in  twenty  can  read,  or  has  any  more  general  knowledge  than 
their  fathers  three  centuries  ago.  We  have  met  friends  at  every 
turn.  The  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  here  is  from  Flushing, 
Long  Island.  When  senator  at  Albany  he  acted  for  our  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  and  he  showed  me  a  finely  engrossed  vote  of  thanks, 
signed  by  me  as  president.  At  the  close  of  the  temperance  meet- 
ing the  Governor  of  the  Territory  introduced  himself  as  an  old 
attorney  of  our  firm.  We  subsequently  visited  him  at  the  '  pal- 
ace,' or  government-house,  now  three  hundred  years  old,  where  he 
has  a  wonderful  collection  of  curiosities.  At  the  temperance 
meeting  also  a  lawyer  and  his  wife  came  up  to  greet  us,  and  he 


142  TRAVELS. 

introduced  himself  as  a  son  of  our  old  friend  Judge .  A  fine- 
looking  young  man  followed,  who  said  he  was  once  a  member 
of  the  Rivington  Street  Church  in  New  York,  and  had  been  five 
years  in  Mr.  Booth's  office.  We  are  all  well,  and  enjoy  every 
moment." 

The  party  took  the  Southern  Pacific  route,  entering 
California  at  Fort  Yuma,  and  passing  their  first  night  in 
the  midst  of  the  charming  scenery  of  the  Sierra  Madre 
Mountains.  A  delightful  month  was  spent  in  visiting  the 
chief  cities  and  resorts  of  the  State.  The  days  at  San 
Francisco  and  in  its  immediate  vicinity  were  especially  full 
of  interest,  as  this  was  the  first  visit  of  most  of  the  com- 
pany. Their  final  excursion  brought  them  to  the  wonders 
of  the  Yosemite  Valley. 

Mr.  Dodge  writes,  May  21,  1882,  to  his  children  at 
home :  — 

"  We  reached  this  most  grand  and  remarkable  spot  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  second  day,  and  the  sight  was  beyond  anything  I  could 
have  anticipated  by  descriptions.  The  rocks  rise  five  to  six  thou- 
sand feet  perpendicularly,  with  every  form  of  peak,  and  with 
streams  twenty  feet  wide,  falling  sixteen  hundred  feet  in  one  sheet. 
As  we  came  down  into  the  valley,  which  is  only  some  mile  or 
so  wide,  and  full  of  majestic  trees,  it  looked  like  a  fine  English 
park." 

The  principal  points  of  attraction  were  visited  with  con- 
stantly increasing  delight,  —  Mr.  Dodge  making  one  of  the 
excursions  on  horseback  with  something  of  the  old  ease 
and  pleasure  he  always  manifested  when  mounted  on  a 
good  horse. 

On  their  return  from  the  Yosemite,  the  "  big  trees  "  of 
the  Mariposa  group  were  carefully  examined.  The  growth 
and  dimensions  of  trees  had  been  a  subject  of  study  to 
Mr.  Dodge  during  all  his  business  life,  and  as  he  now 
drove  day  after  day  through  the  woods,  the  immense  size 
of  many  of  the  trees,  regarded  there  as  only  ordinary,  con- 
stantly called  forth  his  admiration ;  but  when  the  famous 


TRAVELS.  143 

monarchs  of  the  forest  were  finally  reached,  and  his  ex- 
perienced eye  began  to  take  in  their  stupendous  pro- 
portions, his  astonishment,  delight,  and  awe  were  almost 
beyond  expression.  No  scene  during  the  journey  made 
a  deeper  impression  upon  his  mind,  and  he  frequently 
referred  to  it  afterwards. 

The  Central  and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroads  were  fol- 
lowed on  the  homeward  route,  the  party  stopping  at  Salt 
Lake  City  and  diverging  also  for  a  few  days  to  visit  Denver 
and  other  places  in  Colorado.  This  was  the  last  journey 
of  any  importance  undertaken  by  Mr.  Dodge. 

The  fact  that  he  was  engaged  in  travelling  was  not  held 
by  Mr.  Dodge  to  be  a  valid  excuse  for  suspending  any 
Christian  activity.  He  never  regarded  himself  as  "  off 
duty."  Wherever  he  went,  on  whatever  errand,  he  was 
also  intent  upon  his  "  Master's  business,"  —  not  anxiously 
or  ostentatiously,  but  naturally,  and  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity offered.  On  the  steamboat,  in  a  stage-coach,  sitting 
beside  a  stranger  in  a  railway  car  or  at  a  hotel  table,  he 
could,  by  a  friendly  word  or  act,  enter  into  conversation, 
and  finally  lead  the  way  to  religious  topics,  and  perhaps  to 
a  personal  appeal.  He  usually  carried  with  him  a  number 
of  tracts  and  leaflets  suitable  for  different  occasions.  In 
the  days  when  he  was  in  the  habit  of  travelling  by  stage  or 
in  a  private  carriage,  especially  through  the  lumber  or 
mining  regions  of  Pennsylvania,  he  would  scatter  tracts  at 
schoolhouses  or  dwellings  along  the  road.  If  he  saw  a 
group  of  children,  he  loved  to  stop  and  say  a  few  cheerful 
words,  or  throw  them  some  small  papers  or  tracts.  When 
sometimes  floating  down  a  stream  on  a  timber  raft,  he 
would  fasten  a  tract  in  a  partially  split  shingle  and  throw 
it  on  the  bank  in  front  of  some  lonely  house. 

The  guide  who  conducted  the  party  to  the  great  trees  of 
California  was  found  by  Mr.  Dodge  to  have  once  belonged 
to  one  of  his  Sunday-schools  in  New  York.  He  had  long 
ago  wandered  out  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  was  now  living 


144  TRAVELS. 

in  forgetfulness  of  much  of  his  early  training.  When 
Mr.  Dodge  returned  to  San  Francisco  he  took  special 
pains  to  send  this  man  a  Bible.  In  his  various  journeys 
from  place  to  place  he  was  continually  invited  to  address 
temperance  meetings  or  Sunday-schools,  or  to  speak  be- 
fore churches  and  at  public  assemblies,  and  he  rarely 
refused  to  comply.  He  was  also  frequently  urged  to  aid 
churches,  institutions,  or  individuals  in  the  places  he 
visited  ;  and  if  the  cause  commended  itself  to  him,  he  was 
glad  to  respond  to  such  appeals. 

Sunday  travelling  he  regarded  as  unnecessary  and 
wrong.  However  urgent  his  business,  or  wherever  he 
found  himself  on  Saturday  night,  his  invariable  rule  was 
to  stop  for  the  Sabbath.  He  believed  that  a  little  previous 
care  in  planning  a  journey  would  generally  enable  a  trav- 
eller to  reach  some  suitable,  or  at  least  comfortable,  rest- 
ing-place at  the  end  of  the  week.  Certainly  he  always  felt 
that  some  of  his  own  most  delightful  experiences,  as  well 
as  often  unexpected  opportunities  for  usefulness,  came  to 
him  when  he  was  endeavoring  to  honor  the  Lord's  day. 

He  had  occasion  to  notice  also  that  such  "godliness" 
was  sometimes  "  profitable  "  in  promoting  the  direct  object 
of  the  journey,  —  and  this  not  merely  in  the  rest  to  body 
and  peace  of  mind  so  valuable  to  a  man  burdened  with 
business  cares,  but  that  more  than  once  he  reached  his 
destination  all  the  sooner  by  waiting  over. 

At  one  of  the  sessions  of  the  Sabbath  Convention  at  Bos- 
ton, 1879,  Mr.  Dodge  related  the  following  incidents:  — 

"  Some  forty  years  ago  I  was  bound  to  New  Orleans  on  a  hasty 
and  important  mercantile  trip.  I  had  been  riding  three  days,  day 
and  night,  in  the  stage.  The  stage  was  full ;  and  on  Saturday,  as 
evening  approached,  I  said  to  my  fellow-travellers  :  '  What  a  blessed 
thing  that  we  have  the  Sabbath  to-morrow ! '  '  Well,'  said  one, 
'  would  n't  it  be  !  But  I  am  so  situated  that  I  must  go  on.  I  wish 
I  could  rest ;  but  I  can't.'  I  found  from  the  driver  that  at  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  should  reach  La  Grange,  Ga. 


TRAVELS.  145 

I  said,  '  Let  me  out  there.'  When  we  arrived,  I  took  my  valise 
and  went  into  the  hotel.  It  was  a  very  small  hotel ;  but  I  slept 
soundly.  The  Sabbath  morning  was  beautiful.  At  the  breakfast 
table  there  were  none  but  the  landlord  and  three  children.  I 
asked  the  children,  '  Have  you  a  Sabbath-school  ?  '  '  Oh,  yes,  sir  1 
we  are  hurrying  to  get  through  to  go.'  '  Will  you  let  me  go  with 
you?  '  '  Yes,  sir  ;  certainly.'  They  led  the  way,  and  we  crossed  a 
little  park  to  an  academy  in  a  grove,  where  I  found,  to  my  aston- 
ishment, a  large  Sabbath-school.  The  children  went  in,  and  I  sat 
down  by  the  door,  an  entire  stranger.  I  was  superintendent  of  a 
Sabbath-school  in  New  York.  The  superintendent,  seeing  me, 
came  and  said,  'There  is  a  Bible-class  of  young  men  from  the 
academy;  their  teacher  is  sick  to-day.  Will  you  teach  them?' 
There  were  eight  or  ten  fine-looking  young  men,  and  I  had  a 
pleasant  time  with  them.  Before  the  school  closed,  the  super- 
intendent came  and  said  to  me,  '  Stranger,  where  do  you  come 
from ? '  'I  am  from  New  York.'  '  Now,  look  here,'  said  he,  '  we 
have  just  started  a  Sabbath-school  here,  a  union  school.  We  are 
Baptists,  Methodists,  and  Presbyterians.  We  never  had  a  Sabbath- 
school  here  until  now.  Now,  won't  you  talk  to  the  teachers  and 
scholars?'  So,  in  my  plain  way,  I  undertook  to  speak  to  the 
children.  Then  the  school  was  dismissed,  and  we  went  towards 
the  church,  where  I  heard  an  excellent  plain  sermon.  There  were 
three  or  four  churches  on  the  green  ;  and  as  I  came  out,  quite  to 
my  astonishment  and  pleasure  one  of  my  customers —  I  had  for- 
gotten that  I  had  a  customer  in  La  Grange  —  came  up  to  me  and 
said,  '  Why,  Mr.  Dodge,  where  did  you  come  from  ? '  And  he 
introduced  me  to  three  or  four  gentlemen  ;  and  one  of  them  said, 
'  Don't  go  back  to  that  hotel ;  come  and  take  dinner  with  me.' 
While  we  were  eating,  three  gentlemen  called,  among  them  the 
principal  of  the  large  academy,  —  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Be- 
man  of  Troy,  —  and  they  said,  '  We  want  you  to  talk  to  the  people 
in  the  church  this  afternoon.  We  will  give  up  the  services  in  the 
other  churches,  and  attend  this.'  The  church  was  large ;  and  in 
front  were  about  sixty  of  the  young  men  from  Mr.  Beman's 
academy,  and  then  the  children  of  the  school  filled  up  nearly  the 
rest  of  the  centre,  and  the  galleries  and  sides  were  crowded  full. 
I  spoke  to  them  for  half  an  hour.  In  the  evening  they  said  they 
had  just  started  a  teachers'  meeting,  and  they  wished  me  to  come 


146  TRAVELS. 

to  that.  I  went,  and  we  had  a  good  talk  together.  I  returned  to 
the  hotel,  slept  well,  and  rose  on  a  delightful  morning.  I  had  to 
run  the  risk  of  the  stage  being  full.  When  I  came  out  to  go,  there 
were  some  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  citizens  of  La  Grange  to  bid  me 
good-by.  I  had  come  a  perfect  stranger,  but  they  were  waiting  to 
see  me  off.  The  stage  arrived,  and  I  secured  my  seat,  and  went 
on  travelling  that  day  and  night.  Next  morning  we  reached  a 
little  railroad  built  out  from  Montgomery,  Ala.,  where  we  were  to 
take  the  steamer  for  Mobile.  As  I  got  on  the  train  I  was  anxious, 
and  said  to  the  conductor,  '  Is  there  any  boat  down  the  river  to- 
day?' 'Two  went  down  yesterday,'  he  said.  'There  won't  be 
another  until  Thursday.'  '  Well,'  I  said  to  myself,  '  it  has  always 
turned  out  well  when  I  have  tried  to  spend  the  Sabbath  right.' 
We  arrived  in  Montgomery.  As  the  train  stopped,  a  man  sung 
out,  'Any  passengers  for  the  boat?  It  is  just  off.'  The  best  of 
the  two  boats  had  waited  to  take  in  a  hundred  bales  of  cotton, 
and  they  concluded  to  await  the  train.  In  ten  minutes  we  were 
going  down  the  river.  The  next  day  we  overtook  the  other  boat 
at  a  wooding-place,  and  there  were  my  friends  who  rode  with  me 
in  the  stage,  and  could  not  stop  over  Sunday,  waiting  on  board  that 
boat ;  and,  our  boat  being  the  faster,  we  got  into  Mobile  one  day 
ahead. 

"  A  few  years  after  that,  before  the  days  of  steamships,  I  was  on 
my  way  to  Liverpool  in  one  of  the  largest  ships  that  ever  sailed  out 
of  New  York.  We  had  a  twenty-four  days'  passage  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Channel,  and  there  we  rested ;  there  was  not  wind  enough 
to  carry  us  farther.  A  pilot-boat  came  out  from  old  Kinsale ; 
there  was  just  a  breath  of  air  sufficient  to  move  the  little  boat  with 
its  large  sails.  I  was  anxious  to  stop  at  Cork  to  see  Father 
Mathew,  and  quite  a  number  of  us  made  an  arrangement  to  get 
on  the  pilot-boat  and  go  on  to  old  Kinsale,  and  thence  through 
the  country.  Soon  after  we  left  the  ship  we  found  there  wasn't 
wind  enough  for  the  boat  even ;  and  just  as  we  got  under  the 
head  of  Kinsale,  the  tide  began  to  run  out  swiftly  (for  it  rises 
there  thirty  feet),  and  we  had  to  lie  under  the  head  of  Kinsale 
all  night,  —  a  terrible  night  too.  Next  day  was  the  Sabbath.  The 
sun  rose  in  all  its  beauty,  and  about  seven  we  ran  in  with  the  tide 
to  the  little  village  of  Kinsale.  We  were  all  tired,  many  of  our 
friends  had  been  sick  during  the  night,  and  it  so  happened  that 


TRAVELS.  147 

each  one  of  them  had  a  most  pressing  excuse  to  go  on.  Some  of 
them  had  never  travelled  on  the  Sabbath,  but  they  were  so  situated 
that  they  must  go  on ;  and  particularly  one  lady,  who  had  come 
out  in  charge  of  two  girls  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  and  she  was 
very  anxious  indeed  to  keep  on  travelling.  A  gentleman  and  his 
wife  from  New  York,  Mrs.  Dodge  and  myself,  were  all  that  re- 
mained. We  had  nice  rooms  in  a  little  bit  of  a  hotel,  where  we 
changed  our  clothing,  washed  ourselves,  and  got  breakfast.  We 
went  to  a  beautiful  little  church,  and  had  a  delightful  service. 
After  service  the  young  preacher,  seeing  us  there  as  strangers, 
made  us  welcome ;  and  we  attended  service  again  in  the  after- 
noon. On  Monday  morning,  as  the  coach  came  up,  we  found 
this  young  clergyman  was  to  be  our  companion  to  Cork ;  and  he 
said  :  '  Now  get  up  on  top  of  the  stage ;  I  know  all  the  country, 
and  will  show  you  everything.' 

"  We  had  a  charming  ride  of  two  days  and  two  nights.  But  the 
second  day,  about  ten  o'clock,  we  stopped  at  one  of  the  principal 
stage  villages,  and  there  on  the  platform  stood  every  one  of  our 
poor  fellow-passengers.  There  they  stood  ;  and  that  poor  woman 
with  her  two  little  children  !  They  had  travelled  day  and  night, 
had  become  tired,  and  waited  for  this  coach  to  come  along ;  but 
there  was  n't  a  seat  to  be  had,  and  we  left  them  there  utterly 
forlorn." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  a  ready  and  rapid  penman,  and  when 
absent  from  home  made  it  a  practice  to  write  almost  daily 
to  his  wife  or  a  member  of  the  family.  If  he  had  not 
time  to  send  more  than  a  few  lines,  or  even  a  postal  card, 
some  message  was  sure  to  come.  He  occasionally  took 
with  him  envelopes  already  addressed,  and  containing  a 
sheet  of  paper,  so  that  he  could  write  a  pencil  note  and 
throw  it  into  a  post-office  box  in  any  railway-station  or 
town. 

In  the  comparatively  few  journeys  Mr.  Dodge  took  un- 
accompanied by  his  wife,  his  Sunday  letters  to  her  gener- 
ally contained  an  account  of  the  sermons  he  had  heard,  or 
of  the  work  he  had  himself  done  during  the  day. 

Such  a  letter,  written  at  Phelps's  Mills,  April,  1858,  gives 


148  TRAVELS. 

a  glimpse  of  one  of  his  Sabbaths  at  a  lumbering  point  in 
Pennsylvania:  — 

"  I  must  say  I  have  not  followed  your  advice.  I  could  not  keep 
still  on  Sunday.  I  rode  early  in  the  morning  four  miles  -up  the 
creek,  and  met  by  appointment  some  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  men 
who  had  contracted  to  float  the  logs,  and  were  intending  to  do  so 
on  Sunday.  I  got  them  all  into  a  house,  and  had  a  very  interest- 
ing time.  I  left  them  tracts,  papers,  etc.,  and  '  they  rested  the 
Sabbath  day.'  In  the  morning  I  attended  church  at  the  village, 
and  in  the  afternoon  addressed  the  Sunday-school  at  the  mills, 
and  at  the  close  of  preaching  spoke  twenty  minutes  to  the  people. 
They  were  very  attentive  and  solemn.  In  the  evening  I  went 
again  to  the  church  at  the  village.  So  you  see  I  was  very  busy ; 
but  God  gave  me  strength,  and  I  am  much  better  than  when  I  left 
home." 

From  St.  Louis,  November,  1880,  he  writes  to  his 
wife :  — 

"  I  have  been  to-day  to  hear  my  good  friend  Dr.  Nelson 
preach  a  most  wonderful  sermon  from  the  text,  '  For  we  have  all 
sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.'  He  dwelt  on  sin, 
its  nature  and  consequences ;  and  then  the  only  remedy,  Jesus 
Christ.  Every  word  was  just  what  you  would  have  delighted  to 
hear.  He  used  no  notes  whatever.  I  took  dinner  with  one  of 

his  church  members,  and  met  there  Mr.  G ,  the  great  friend 

of  the  colored  people  who  have  come  in  such  numbers  to  this 
State.  This  evening  I  expect  to  hear  Dr.  Nelson  again,  —  on 
'  Heaven,  and  who  will  go  there.'  How  I  wish  you  were  with 
me!" 


CHAPTER    X. 

EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

IN  no  sphere  of  activity  were  the  characteristics  of  Mr. 
Dodge  more  conspicuous  than  in  his  labors  for  the 
cause  of  temperance. 

At  the  date  of  his  birth  the  question  of  total  absti- 
nence had  scarcely  been  broached.  Drinking  habits  were 
universal.  "  Births,  marriages,  and  burials  were  hallowed 
by  strong  drink.  It  was  indispensable  at  anniversaries, 
civic  festivities,  military  displays,  municipal  elections,  and 
even  religious  ceremonials." 

In  his  address  as  chairman  of  the  opening  session  of 
the  International  Temperance  Convention,  held  in  Phila- 
delphia, June,  1876,  Mr.  Dodge  reverts  to  his  own  recol- 
lection of  those  early  customs :  — 

"  I  call  to  mind  my  sainted  father,  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  a  strict  temperance  man  for  his  time.  When  building 
a  factory  in  Connecticut,  he  insisted  as  one  of  the  conditions  that 
there  should  be  an  entire  separation  of  the  village  from  the  sur- 
rounding country,  where  liquor  was  sold,  and  that  nothing  which 
could  intoxicate  should  be  allowed,  except  a  small  keg  of  brandy 
and  a  keg  of  New  England  rum  and  of  gin,  to  be  dealt  out  by  order 
of  the  physicians.  But  the  idea  of  the  social  disuse  of  everything 
intoxicating  never  entered  my  father's  head,  for  no  one  was  more 
particular  in  putting  up  his  cider  for  the  year.  The  best  apples 
were  selected,  and  after  the  cider  had  stood  for  some  time,  forty  or 
fifty  dozens  of  well-washed  bottles  were  filled  and  corked,  —  my 
brother  and  myself  having  first  put  in  allspice  and  raisins.  This 
cider,  when  ready,  was  like  sparkling  champagne.  Ministers  of 


150  EFFORTS   FOR   TEMPERANCE. 

all  denominations,  who  came  to  the  village  to  preach,  always  stayed 
at  my  father's  house,  and  they  invariably  found  the  sideboard  sup- 
plied with  the  best  madeira.  Guests  were  not  asked  whether  they 
would  take  something,  but  what  would  they  take,  —  brandy,  wine, 
or  this  sparkling  cider.  My  father,  I  say,  was  a  thorough-going 
temperance  man  for  those  days,  —  but  that  was  sixty  years  ago. 
He  lived  long  enough  to  become  one  of  the  strongest  advocates 
of  total  abstinence." 

He  says  again,  addressing  a  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association :  — 

"  At  that  time  cider  was  the  common  family  drink  in  the  coun- 
try ;  but  this,  in  turn,  led  to  a  large  increase  in  the  use  of  rum,  — 
few  New  England  farmers  supposing  it  possible  to  harvest  their 
crops  without  the  customary  supply  of  rum  and  molasses  mixed 
with  water.  At  last  it  became  evident  that  cider  also  must  be  ban- 
ished, or  there  was  no  hope  of  a  successful  temperance  reform. 
Thus  began  the  movement  for  total  abstinence  from  all  that  could 
intoxicate  !  —  but  not  without  great  opposition.  Even  many 
Christian  people  looked  upon  the  advocates  of  this  cause  as  fanat- 
ics. It  is  something  more  than  fifty  years  since  those  veterans, 
Edwards,  D wight,  Nott,  Lyman  Beecher,  Delavan,  Hewitt,  Ladd, 
Marsh,  and  others  began  the  great  crusade  against  ardent  spirits. 
Sermons,  addresses,  tracts,  were  widely  circulated ;  societies  were 
organized  all  over  the  New  England  and  Middle  States ;  and  the 
published  statistics  of  intemperance  aroused  and  alarmed  the  best 
portion  of  our  citizens." 

With  some  of  these  distinguished  pioneers  Mr.  Dodge 
was  associated,  and  in  many  of  these  early  movements 
he  bore  a  part;  his  interest  growing  with  his  years,  and 
his  position  becoming  more  and  more  prominent,  until 
he  was  recognized  in  the  United  States  and  in  other 
countries  as  a  leader  and  representative  of  the  most  cath- 
olic, sagacious,  and  progressive  phases  of  the  temperance 
cause. 

In  the  checkered  development  of  this  great  moral  strug- 
gle Mr.  Dodge  saw  the  original  Moderation  Reform  itself 


EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE.  151 

reformed  into  positive  total  abstinence.  He  rejoiced  in 
and  aided  the  Washingtonian  uprising,  swift  and  strong  in 
its  first  glow,  but  finally  shorn  of  lasting  results  because  it 
did  not  demand  suppression  of  all  traffic  in  liquor,  and  laid 
small  stress  upon  religious  motives.  He  had  words  of 
encouragement  for  the  various  Orders,  Leagues,  Unions, 
and  Associations  which  sprang  up  successively ;  for  he  ac- 
cepted them  as  fresh  corps  in  the  one  army,  although  they 
might  not  always  use  the  weapons  or  methods  he  most 
approved.  He  greeted  with  enthusiasm  the  formation  of 
Juvenile  Societies,  Cold-water  Armies,  and  Bands  of  Hope ; 
for  he  loved  children,  and  had  faith  in  the  progress  and 
final  triumph  of  temperance  principles  chiefly  as  they 
could  succeed  in  winning  the  young. 

During  his  visit  to  Ireland  in  1844  he  urged  Father 
Mathew  to  extend  his  labors  to  America ;  and  when  this 
zealous  apostle  of  total  abstinence  reached  our  shores,  Mr. 
Dodge  with  a  large  company  hastened  down  the  bay  in  a 
special  steamer  to  extend  a  fitting  welcome. 

With  Neal  Dow  and  his  long  and  undaunted  conflict  for 
absolute  prohibition  he  always  manifested  the  warmest 
sympathy.  To  John  B.  Gough  he  was  a  life-long  friend. 
To  Francis  Murphy  and  many  other  individual  workers  he 
gladly  gave  the  hand  of  fellowship,  and  into  the  labors  of 
Moody  and  Sankey  he  entered  with  burning  zeal ;  for  he 
recognized  in  their  aims  supreme  reliance  upon  what  he 
held  to  be  the  one  ground  of  hope  for  the  drunkard,  —  re- 
pentance towards  God,  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  had 
small  confidence  in  any  reformation  that  did  not  include 
Scriptural  conversion.  His  own  early  Christian  life  was 
nurtured  in  the  midst  of  the  revivals  under  Nettleton  and 
Finney;  the  temperance  awakening  began  at  that  time. 
It  has  always  been,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  a  religious 
movement,  and  has  achieved  its  best  results  as  the  pre- 
cursor or  attendant  of  revivals.  Prayer  for  and  with  the 
slaves  of  drink,  or  dealers  in  it,  has  achieved  results 


152  EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

that  cannot  be  denied.  This  was  the  power  behind  the 
heroic  and  memorable  Woman's  Crusade,  exceptional  in 
its  methods,  but  justified  by  desperate  need  and  by  tri- 
umphant success.  Mr.  Dodge  deeply  sympathized  with 
this  irrepressible  outburst  against  the  destroyer  of  homes, 
and  he  hailed  with  thankfulness  the  growth  of  the  Woman's 
National  Christian  Temperance  Union  and  other  kindred 
organizations. 

Wherever  a  distinctly  religious  element  was  the  basis  of 
temperance  effort,  he  expected  favorable  results.  He  held 
it  to  be  the  province  of  the  Church  to  lead  in  this  reform, 
and  he  welcomed  denominational  or  ecclesiastical  co-oper- 
ation, of  whatever  name  or  in  any  form.  He  was  himself 
a  member  of  the  Permanent  Committee  on  Temperance 
appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  receive  and  encourage 
Mr.  Robert  Graham,  General  Secretary  of  the  Church  of 
England  Temperance  Society,  in  the  effort  to  establish  a 
similar  organization  in  America. 

Bishop  Henry  C.  Potter,  of  New  York,  then  Rector  of 
Grace  Church,  writing  Feb.  9,  1883,  refers  to  Mr.  Dodge's 
presence  at  one  of  the  earlier  meetings  of  this  Society :  — 

"  It  is  to  me  a  very  grateful  memory  that  the  last  time  I  saw 
him  he  came  to  the  anniversary  of  our  Church  Temperance 
Society  and,  unsolicited,  gave  us  a  '  God-speed '  which  surprised 
and  delighted  us  all.  I  knew  that  he  dissented  from  some  of  our 
methods,  and  I  was  rather  perplexed  by  his  presence,  thinking 
that  perhaps  he  had  come  to  criticise.  In  this  mood  I  said  to 
him,  'I  am  somewhat  surprised  to  see  you  on  this  platform,  Mr. 
Dodge.'  '  Oh,'  he  replied  promptly,  '  it  is  a  very  good  platform.' 
'  As  far  as  it  goes,  I  suppose  you  mean,'  said  I.  '  Yes,'  he  said, 
'  as  far  as  it  goes.'  But  before  the  evening  was  over  he  asked  an 
opportunity  to  bring  us  the  greetings  of  the  National  Temperance 
Society ;  and  then,  in  words  whose  cordial  ring  I  can  never  forget, 
gave  us  the  encouragement  of  his  warm  approval  and  hearty  sym- 
pathy. It  was  a  large-minded  and  chivalrous  thing  to  do ;  for, 
as  I  have  said,  he  was  not  unmindful  of  our  differences  as  to 


EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE.  153 

methods.  But  his  vision  was  wide  enough  to  see  that  we  were 
trying  to  serve  the  common  cause,  and  his  heart  was  generous 
enough  to  acknowledge  it." 

The  same  characteristic  spirit  of  liberality  and  readiness 
to  see  good  in  every  honest  attempt  to  promote  temper- 
ance, is  manifest  in  a  letter  addressed,  April,  1879,  to  the 
editor  of  the  "  Tribune."  It  also  exhibits  Mr.  Dodge's 
views  of  the  progress  already  achieved.  The  occasion  was 
the  report  of  a  meeting  of  the  Business  Men's  Society  for 
the  Encouragement  of  Moderation,  at  which  it  had  been 
asserted  that  "  drunkenness  was  more  than  ever  on  the 
increase." 

"  I  am  gratified  at  any  movement  looking  to  the  downfall  of  the 
habit  of  fashionable  or  social  drinking.  Those  of  us  who  can  go 
back  to  the  very  commencement  of  the  temperance  reformation 
know  that  in  all  parts  of  the  country  outside  of  our  large  cities  a 
remarkable  change  has  taken  place  in  the  habits  and  customs  of 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  as  the  result  of  temperance  efforts. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  vast  increase  of  population  from  the  Old 
World  the  results  would  have  been  more  apparent.  We  who  have 
watched  it  feel  that  the  progress  has  been  most  encouraging.  I 
have  just  returned  from  an  absence  of  two  months,  in  which  I  have 
travelled  through  ten  States  and  more  than  two  thousand  miles, 
and  I  have  seen  less  drinking  and  fewer  drunkards  than  ever  before 
in  the  same  time  and  distance.  This  new  movement  reported  in 
your  columns  is  in  the  right  direction ;  and  although  it  does  not  go 
the  full  length,  I  wish  it  God-speed,  and  trust  many  of  its  members 
will  take  the  pledge  which  stands  first  in  their  platform,  —  the 
pledge  of  total  abstinence." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  ready  to  try  all  instrumentalities  that 
could  commend  themselves  to  his  judgment. 

In  1857  he  united  with  a  large  number  of  citizens  in 
founding  a  State  Inebriate  Asylum  at  Binghamton.  Ex- 
tensive buildings  were  erected,  and  high  hopes  entertained ; 
but  adequate  results  were  not  realized. 

More  recently,  in  1877,  he  aided  largely  in  establishing 


154  EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

the  New  York  Christian  Home  for  Intemperate  Men,  —  an 
institution  having  its  chief  design  to  bring  all  its  inmates 
under  direct  and  positive  religious  influences.  Provision 
was  made  to  accommodate  those  able  to  pay;  but  an 
equally  cordial  welcome  was  extended  to  those  utterly 
destitute.  One  condition  only  was  demanded  of  rich  and 
poor,  —  an  honest  desire  to  be  wholly  and  permanently 
delivered  from  the  debasing  habit,  and  a  willingness  to 
look  solely  to  God  for  relief.  Drunkenness  was  declared 
to  be  a  sin  needing  to  be  repented  of,  and  to  be  overcome 
by  Divine  grace  alone.  Mr.  Dodge  took  unwearied  interest 
in  the  growth  and  success  of  this  institution.  He  was  its 
president  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  a  few  months 
previous  had  rejoiced  in  the  opening  of  its  new  and 
commodious  building  on  Madison  Avenue,  and  in  being 
able  to  say  in  his  annual  official  Report:  "  It  is  manifest 
that  this  home  has  done  and  is  doing  a  most  bene- 
ficent and  remarkable  work  in  restoring  and  saving  the 
unfortunate." 

It  was  in  visiting  a  somewhat  similar  institution  for 
women,  which,  in  conjunction  with  a  few  other  friends 
of  temperance,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge  had  just  established, 
that  he  did  his  last  public  work.  He  was  here  taken  ill 
and  returned  to  his  own  home,  never  to  leave  it  again 
alive. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  always  ready  to  advocate  his  temper- 
ance principles  upon  every  proper  occasion,  in  public  or 
private.  He  was  a  natural,  forcible,  sympathetic  speaker, 
and  his  genial,  courteous,  clear  presentation  of  arguments 
or  incidents  rarely  failed  to  disarm  criticism,  and  often  won 
both  the  hearts  and  convictions  of  his  hearers.  He  spoke 
apparently  with  equal  freedom  and  pleasure  to  great  as- 
semblies or  crowded  conventions,  in  halls  or  pulpits,  at 
Sunday-schools  or  mission-chapels,  among  news-boys  or 
roughs,  miners,  lumbermen,  or  freedmen. 

On  his  first  visit  to  England,  in   1844,  he  carried  letters 


EFFORTS  FOR  TEMPERANCE.  155 

to  prominent  temperance  men,  and  was  repeatedly  invited 
to  make  addresses.  An  intimate  American  friend,  living 
in  England  at  the  time,  writes  to  him  in  August  of  that 
year  of  a  meeting  held  at  Manchester:  — 

"  Many  inquiries  have  been  made  concerning  you.  The  chair- 
man told  me  he  had  never  known  so  much  real  good  done  at  one 
meeting,  not  only  on  the  subject  of  temperance,  but  in  religion ; 
nor  had  he  seen  any  one  so  well  keep  the  attention  and  interest  of 
a  meeting." 

When  travelling  abroad  subsequently,  and  especially 
during  his  last  visit  to  Great  Britain,  in  1881,  he  addressed 
large  audiences  in  London  and  elsewhere.  Speaking  of 
these  journeys,  he  says :  — 

"  I  remember  having  in  England  several  times  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  deliver  quite  a  temperance  lecture  at  table  in  giving  the 
reasons  why  I  did  not  drink.  Dining  once  with  six  or  seven 
clergymen,  we  were  the  only  ones  who  drank  water,  and  they 
thought  it  strange.  The  conversation  for  more  than  an  hour  after- 
wards was  a  regular  running  temperance  discussion  on  the  duty 
and  responsibility  of  Christians  in  relation  to  social  drinking." 

Mr.  Dodge  not  only  was  himself  received  in  foreign 
countries  as  a  leading  American  advocate  of  temperance, 
but  he  took  peculiar  pleasure  in  welcoming  to  the  United 
States  representatives  of  the  cause  from  abroad.  Many 
delightful  and  enduring  friendships  were  thus  formed,  and 
the  essential  unity  of  the  common  movement  was  made 
more  conspicuous. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  a  constant  reader  of  British  as  well  as 
American  temperance  papers.  The  "Alliance  News,"  pub- 
lished in  London,  was  often  in  his  hand.  He  especially 
followed  with  keen  interest  the  progress  of  Sir  Wilfrid 
Lawson's  Permissive  Prohibitory  Bill,  from  its  first  intro- 
duction into  Parliament,  amid  the  derision  of  members,  until 
the  passage  of  the  resolution  affirming  the  principle.  He 
also  anticipated  important  results  from  the  establishment, 


156  EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

by  Dr.  James  Edmunds  and  others,  of  the  London  Tem- 
perance Hospital,  which  seeks  to  remove  disease  without 
any  resort  to  alcohol  as  a  medicine. 

The  principle  that  responsibility  is  in  proportion  to 
opportunity,  Mr.  Dodge  heartily  embraced.  The  higher 
he  rose  in  private  or  public  stations,  the  more  eager  he 
seemed  to  be  to  make  that  position  a  new  vantage-ground 
for  enlarged  usefulness.  When  he  went  to  Congress,  he 
was  impressed  with  the  thought  of  the  vast  influence  which 
that  body  might  exert  outside  of  mere  political  questions ; 
and  while  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his  absorbing 
duties  as  a  representative  from  the  city  of  New  York,  he 
found  time  for  other  work. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Dunn,  D.D.,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Tem- 
perance Movement"  (see  "  Centennial  Volume")  says: 

"During  February,  1867/3  Congressional  Temperance  Society 
was  formed  in  Washington.  Sixty  members  of  the  Senate  and 
House  signed  the  call  for  the  meeting.  The  president  was  the 
Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  to  whom,  with 
the  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge,  president  of  the  National  Society,  and 
then  a  member  of  the  House,  Washington  and  the  country  are 
indebted  for  such  a  society.  No  one  step  taken  to  advance  the 
cause  of  temperance  for  some  time  did  more  to  educate  public 
sentiment,  arouse  the  public  conscience,  and  electrify  the  hearts  of 
its  friends.  It  was  one  of  the  victories  gained  for  temperance 
during  the  winter  of  1866-1867." 

At  the  formation  of  this  Society  Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of 
the  principal  speakers  :  — 

"  We  are  met  here  to-night  in  view  of  a  widespread  evil  more 
to  be  dreaded  than  any  epidemic.  More  die  in  a  single  year  from 
the  influence  of  intoxicating  drinks  than  all  who  have  perished 
from  cholera  since  it  first  visited  our  land  in  1832.  The  fact  has 
already  been  stated  here  that  fifty  thousand  annually  go  to  drunk- 
ards' graves.  I  indorse  the  statement,  —  not  that  all  die  admitted 
drunkards,  but  they  die  premature  deaths  from  disease  superin- 
duced by  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks.  Some  of  us  stood  on  this 


EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE.  157 

beautiful  avenue  two  years  ago,  and  for  long  hours  witnessed  the 
columns  of  our  returning  noble  veterans  as  they  passed  in  review. 
Could  we  have  realized  they  were  all  marching  to  drunkards' 
graves,  with  what  terrible  anxiety  should  we  have  looked  upon 
their  faces  !  And  yet  when  that  mighty  army  had  passed,  if  we 
could  have  felt  that  was  the  end  of  the  sad  procession,  it  would 
have  been  less  appalling.  But  as  1868  looms  up  in  the  distance, 
we  behold  the  onward  march  of  fifty  thousand  more,  all  coming 
from  those  licensed  recruiting  places  for  drunkards,  —  the  hotels 
and  saloons.  They  come  enlisted  from  the  dining-tables  of  the 
distinguished  men  of  our  land,  where  temptation  is  set  before  them 
because  it  is  fashionable  ;  they  come  from  social  gatherings  where 
the  punch-bowl  is  seen,  —  where  intoxicating  drinks  circulate  amid 
our  wives,  our  daughters,  sisters,  and  friends;  where  temptation 
meets  the  man  who  enters  that  house  determined  not  to  drink,  and 
young  and  lovely  woman  reaches  out  the  cup,  and  there  is  no 
moral  courage  to  resist. 

"  Sir,  we  are  not  fanatics ;  no  man  can  take  the  Bible  in  his 
hand  and  say  to  me  fast  per  se  it  is  sin  for  me  to  drink  wine.  Yet 
he  can  take  that  Bible  and  show  most  conclusively  there  may  be 
circumstances  under  which  it  would  be  sin  for  me  to  drink.  If 
my  brother  has  been  addicted  to  the  use  of  the  intoxicating  cup 
and  is  manfully  struggling  to  resist  the  appetite  (and  what  it  is 
none  but  they  who  have  acquired  it  know),  should  I  drink  my  wine 
in  his  presence,  put  it  on  my  table  and  ask  him  to  drink,  and  he 
should  be  overcome  and  die  a  drunkard,  —  God  would  call  me  to 
account  for  my  brother's  blood.  And  here  comes  in  the  power 
of  example  and  sympathy,  which  is  the  grand  foundation  of  every 
temperance  organization.  It  is  the  Bible  principle  we  must  en- 
deavor to  follow,  —  self-sacrifice  for  the  good  of  others.  Paul 
declared  :  '  If  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  more 
meat  while  the  world  stands.'  And  now  let  me  say  to  my  fellow- 
members  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress,  the  eye  of  the  nation 
rests  upon  Congress  as  the  focal  point.  Whatever  emanates  from 
Congress  goes  world-wide.  We  are  here  placed  high  on  the 
mount  of  responsibility ;  and  as,  by  God's  blessing,  we  have  helped 
to  save  the  country  from  that  terrible  curse  of  slavery,  is  there  a 
man  here  who  will  not  be  willing  to  sacrifice  himself  for  the 


158  EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

sake  of  saving  the  fifty  thousand  who  may  die  drunkards  in  1868  — 
for  the  sake  of  saving  the  nation  itself !  " 

From  the  year  1865  until  his  death  Mr.  Dodge's  name 
and  labors  in  connection  with  the  cause  of  temperance 
were  more  particularly  associated  with  the  National  Tem- 
perance Society  and  Publication  House. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  he  had  been  an  active 
member  of  the  American  Temperance  Union ;  but  at  the 
close  of  the  war  the  friends  of  temperance  were  kindled 
to  unite  with  fresh  vigor  against  a  foe  of  the  nation's  life 
more  deadly  than  even  negro  slavery.  Many  felt  the  need 
of  a  more  comprehensive  and  central  organization  than 
any  yet  attempted,  and  at  the  same  time  a  vastly  larger 
use  of  the  Press.  A  call  was  issued  for  the  Fifth  General 
Temperance  Convention,  to  be  held  at  Saratoga.  An  un- 
usual number  of  the  older  and  best-known  friends  of  the 
cause  assembled.  After  full  deliberation  a  committee  was 
appointed,  with  Mr.  Dodge  as  chairman,  to  propose  meas- 
ures for  a  new  and  national  society. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Committee  was  held  in  New 
York,  at  Mr.  Dodge's  office.  A  constitution  and  scheme 
of  work  were  drafted,  and  finally  the  two  objects  deemed 
essential  were  combined  under  the  title  of  the  National 
Temperance  Society  and  Publication  House.  At  the 
subsequent  formal  organization  Mr.  Dodge  was  elected 
president,  William  A.  Booth  treasurer,  Rev.  J.  B.  Dunn 
corresponding  secretary,  and  J.  N.  Stearns  publishing 
agent,  with  a  large  body  of  representative  temperance 
men  as  vice-presidents  and  managers. 

The  struggles  and  successes  of  this  Society  cannot  here 
be  told.  The  story  already  has  a  place  in  the  religious 
and  philanthropic  history  of  the  country.  Its  influence 
has  penetrated  into  every  State  and  Territory,  and  among 
all  classes.  Its  literature  has  presented  each  new  phase 
of  the  discussion,  and  has  grown  into  an  educating  power 
of  incalculable  value.  Twelve  hundred  publications  have 


EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE.  159 

been  issued,  with  millions  of  pages  annually  of  tracts  and 
papers  for  old  and  young.  Its  operations  embrace  meet- 
ings, conferences,  appeals,  and  useful  agitation  of  every 
form.  It  seeks  the  aid  of  the  pulpit,  it  goes  into  the  family 
and  the  social  circle,  it  enters  the  doors  of  public  and 
private  schools,  it  appears  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  and 
has  its  deputations  at  the  seat  of  national  government.  It 
pleads  for  congressional  commissions  of  inquiry  and  for 
constitutional  amendments.  It  watches  the  decisions  of 
courts,  and  strives  to  hold  officials  to  strict  discharge  of 
duty.  It  co-operates  with  religious  bodies  of  every  name, 
and  with  all  the  various  orders  of  temperance  societies.  It 
is  in  close  alliance  with  similar  organizations  in  foreign 
lands,  and  hastens  to  announce  every  fresh  triumph  at 
home  or  abroad.  It  is  steadily  growing  in  strength  and 
in  popular  esteem.  Above  all,  it  is  seeing  a  country  in- 
creasingly pervaded  with  a  deep  and  intelligent  hatred  of 
intemperance,  and  a  fixed  purpose  to  suppress,  by  every 
moral  and  legal  means,  this  "  crime  of  crimes." 

In  each  department  and  effort  of  this  Society  Mr. 
Dodge  was  profoundly  interested.  Every  instinct  of  his 
nature  revolted  against  the  unspeakable  misery  caused  by 
intoxicating  drinks.  Every  year  intensified  his  apprehen- 
sion of  the  enormity  and  destructiveness  of  this  curse  of 
the  race.  Each  fresh  development  of  its  evil  aroused  him 
to  more  resolute  opposition.  He  gave  time,  strength,  and 
means  to  this  Society  because  he  believed  it  might  be 
made  a  fit  and  potent  agency  in  resisting  and  overthrow- 
ing a  power  that  threatened  the  very  life  of  the  nation. 
He  bore  the  Society  on  his  heart,  and  was  constantly 
devising  ways  to  promote  its  efficiency.  One  of  his  last 
efforts  in  its  behalf  was  to  raise  a  fund  of  forty  thousand 
dollars  to  increase  its  working  capital,  adding  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars  more  himself  as  a  special  endowment,  the  in- 
come of  which  should  be  used  for  gratuitous  circulation 
of  its  publications. 


l6o          EFFORTS  FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

A  few  extracts  are  taken  from  a  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Dodge  from  the  pen  of  one  whom  he  loved  with 
peculiar  affection,  and  who  had  been  associated  with  him 
in  the  management  of  this  Society  from  its  inception,  the 
Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.D. :  — 

"  When  the  Board  of  Managers  gathered,  on  the  day  after  his 
death,  in  the  committee-room  which  had  been  one  of  his  homes, 
and  when  we  looked  upon  his  empty  chair,  we  all  felt  like  orphans ; 
for  he  was  the  founder,  the  friend,  the  father  to  whom  we  all  paid 
a  loving  reverence.  No  taint  of  selfishness  ever  entered  into  his 
life-long,  whole-souled  labors  for  temperance.  He  loved  the  cause 
with  all  his  might  and  mind  and  strength,  and  gave  to  it  the 
unstinted  gifts  of  his  purse,  his  time,  his  brain,  his  example,  his 
prayers.  To  him  we  all  looked  in  every  emergency ;  on  his 
sagacity,  energy,  and  intuitive  judgment  we  all  leaned  with  a  trust 
that  was  never  disappointed.  During  these  eighteen  years  he  has 
been  the  representative,  before  the  whole  American  people,  of  the 
wisest  purposes  and  the  widest  activities  of  the  temperance  reform. 
His  eye  took  in  the  entire  field,  his  hand  was  on  every  lever  of 
the  varied  machinery.  Everybody  knew  him,  everybody  loved  him, 
everybody  trusted  him.  When  his  lithe,  manly  figure,  elastic  step, 
and  genial  face  came  to  the  front  on  our  platforms,  we  all  felt  as  an 
army-corps  feel  at  the  glimpse  o.f  their  field-marshal's  plume. 

"  His  conscience  made  him  a  total  abstainer  from  the  social 
glass.  As  a  citizen  he  held  to  the  inherent  right  of  every  com- 
munity to  protect  itself  from  the  curse  of  the  dram-shop :  this 
made  him  a  zealous  prohibitionist.  As  an  ardent  laborer  for  the 
welfare  of  the  young  he  urged  the  introduction  of  temperance 
teachings  into  the  Sabbath-schools  and  the  public  schools.  As  a 
Christian  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  his  deep  temperance 
convictions  of  duty  were  part  and  parcel,  bone  and  sinew,  in  his 
vigorous  vital  piety.  He  was  too  sagacious  not  to  perceive  that 
the  kingdom  of  God  can  never  conquer  this  world  while  it  shall 
have  in  its  rear  the  stupendous  batteries  of  King  Alcohol.  Recog- 
nizing this  great  fact,  he  bent  his  energies  towards  arousing  Chris- 
tian people  to  the  full  measure  of  their  responsibilities  and  duties. 
His  voice  rang  out,  clear  as  a  trumpet,  before  hundreds  of  religious 
assemblies.  During  the  centennial  summer  of  1876  he  presided 


EFFORTS   FOR   TEMPERANCE.  i6l 

over  an  International  Convention  of  Temperance  Reforms.  He 
there  took  the  high  ground  that  the  Bible  and  the  ballot  are  the 
two  great  weapons  for  the  overthrow  of  drunkenness  and  the  dram- 
shop. In  the  same  city  of  Philadelphia,  before  the  Pan-Presby- 
terian Council  of  1880,  he  read  a  masterly  paper  on  the  Church 
and  Temperance.  During  the  last  dozen  years  he  repeatedly 
threw  open  the  elegant  drawing-room  of  his  own  mansion  for  the 
discussion  of  the  various  aspects  of  temperance.  Many  of  the 
best  treatises  of  the  Publication  House  were  first  read  there." 

At  one  of  these  parlor  gatherings  Mr.  Dodge  had  the 
pleasure  of  introducing  to  a  distinguished  company  two 
prominent  leaders  in  temperance  reform,  the  Hon.  J.  P. 
St.  John,  then  Governor  of  Kansas,  and  the  Hon.  A.  H. 
Colquitt,  Governor  of  Georgia.  At  another,  Chief-Justice 
Noah  Davis,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  presented  a  paper 
entitled  the  "  Relations  of  Crime  to  Intemperance."  At 
one  of  these  drawing-room  meetings,  also,  a  widely  known 
British  advocate  of  temperance,  Mr.  James  H.  Raper,  rep- 
resenting the  United  Kingdom  Alliance,  was  welcomed  to 
America.  Papers  were  also  read  by  the  Rev.  Mark  Hop- 
kins, D.D.  (then  President  of  Williams  College),  upon 
"  The  Relation  of  the  Social  Drink-Customs  to  the  Edu- 
cational Interests  of  the  Country,"  and  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
C.  Potter,  D.D.  (now  Assistant-Bishop  of  New  York),  on 
the  topic,  "  How  may  the  Total  Abstinence  Movement  be 
strengthened  and  extended?"  Informal  addresses  were 
also  made  by  others,  among  whom  were  the  Rev.  James 
McCosh,  D.D.,  President  of  Princeton  College,  the  Rev. 
John  Hall,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  the  late  Rev.  William 
Adams,  D.D.,  and  Dr.  Willard  Parker. 

Mr.  Dodge's  views  respecting  the  questions  now  most 
prominent  in  temperance  discussions  will  appear  from 
passages  in  his  paper  read  before  the  Pan-Presbyterian 
Council  in  1880:  — 

"  Having  watched  the  progress  of  the  temperance  reformation 
from  its  beginning,  and  the  several  crises  which  have  from  time 


1 62  EFFORTS  FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

to  time  secured  fresh  public  attention,  and  in  each  case  carried 
the  cause  forward,  I  am  now  fully  convinced  that  the  next  great 
battle  is  to  be  for  prohibition.  This  principle  of  the  suppression 
of  the  traffic  by  popular  vote,  either  through  constitutional  amend- 
ments, State  and  National,  or  by  local  prohibition,  is  the  question 
which  the  friends  of  temperance  in  this  country  are  bound  to  press 
until  public  sentiment  shall  secure  the  result. 

"  It  is  not  claimed  that  prohibition  will  prevent  all  intemperance ; 
but  it  will  go  far  towards  it,  by  removing  the  public  temptation 
which  is  now  the  cause  of  so  much  intemperance.  The  license- 
system  is  the  chief  obstacle  in  the  way.  It  gives  a  kind  of  legal 
respectability  to  the  business.  I  desire  to  secure  the  active  co- 
operation of  our  church  to  the  greater  work  of  prevention,  by 
closing  up  the  fountains  from  which  all  this  misery  flows,  —  to  the 
work  of  awakening  public  attention  to  the  sin  and  folly  of  granting 
men  license  to  sell  the  poison,  and  then  trying  to  rescue  those 
who  are  being  destroyed  by  the  very  thing  we  have  made  it  lawful, 
and  hence  apparently  right,  to  sell  and  use. 

"  As  Christians  and  citizens  we  have  responsibilities  which  we 
must  so  discharge  as  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  society,  and 
not  simply  to  carry  out  party  plans,  which  in  almost  all  cases  are 
arranged  to  secure  the  influence  of  the  rum-seller  and  the  votes  of 
his  customers.  The  time  must  come  when  no  Christian  can  main- 
tain his  standing  in  the  church  who  will  manufacture,  sell,  or  use 
intoxicating  drinks,  or  vote  for  any  party  favoring  income  from 
license  to  sell  poison.  Christians  have  it  in  their  power  almost 
wholly  to  remove  the  source  of  this  fearful  evil.  Let  it  once  be 
understood  by  political  managers  that  Christians  will  no  longer 
support  men  for  office  pledged  to  license  this  traffic,  and  there 
will  be  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  adoption  of  the  principle  of 
prohibition." 

While  maintaining  these  sentiments  he  did  not  insist 
upon  immediate  and  extreme  measures,  that  would  in 
reality  defeat  themselves.  He  saw  the  need  of  educating 
the  public  mind  and  the  Christian  conscience  ;  he  knew 
the  process  must  be  gradual ;  he  would  keep  one  aim  in 
view,  but  not  expect  the  consummation  to  be  reached  at 
a  single  stride.  "  I  am  for  prohibition  of  the  dram-shop," 


EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE.  163 

he  said,  in  effect,  to  Dr.  Cuyler,  "  but  I  am  willing  to  work 
with  anybody  or  everybody  who  is  honestly  trying  to 
curtail  their  number.  If  I  cannot  obtain  all  I  want,  I  will 
get  all  I  can." 

In  1882  some  zealous  friends  of  Mr.  Dodge  and  of  tem- 
perance requested  him  to  allow  his  name  to  be  proposed 
for  mayor  of  New  York.  Still  later  he  was  strongly  urged 
to  consent  to  be  nominated  for  governor  of  the  State  as 
the  candidate  of  the  growing  temperance  party;  but  while 
he  firmly  believed  Christian  men  should  vote  as  they  pray, 
he  felt  it  would  be  wiser  at  that  time  for  the  advocates  of 
temperance  to  side  with  the  party  which  represented  the 
best  elements  of  the  people,  and  had  already  carried  some 
measures  for  the  suppression  of  the  liquor  traffic,  and  was 
willing  to  favor  still  others.  Under  the  circumstances  then 
existing  he  considered  this  course  more  for  the  real  inter- 
est of  the  cause  than  to  make  a  distinct  temperance  issue, 
with  every  probability  of  so  dividing  the  vote  as  to  throw 
victory  into  the  hands  of  avowed  enemies. 

During  the  struggle  for  prohibition  in  Kansas,  Mr. 
Dodge  raised  a  subscription  among  friends  in  New  York 
to  aid  the  temperance  party ;  and  he  lived  to  see  the  policy 
of  prohibition  established  not  only  in  Kansas,  but  in  Iowa, 
while  local  option  had  already  been  successfully  carried  in 
separate  counties  of  many  States,  and  agitation  for  prohi- 
bitory laws  was  active  in  every  part  of  the  Union,  and 
manifestly  gaining  in  popular  favor.  On  several  occasions 
Mr.  Dodge  represented  the  National  Temperance  Society 
before  committees  of  Congress  to  advocate  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  national  commission  of  inquiry  concerning  the 
alcoholic  liquor  traffic.  As  president  of  this  Society  he 
signed  an  earnest  protest,  which  was  presented  to  both 
Houses  of  Congress,  against  the  infamous  bonded-whiskey 
extension  bill,  and  he  joined  in  a  petition  for  an  amendment 
of  the  Constitution  to  prohibit  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
all  alcoholic  beverages  throughout  the  national  domain. 


164  EFFORTS   FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

During  the  last  few  months  of  his  life  he  presided  or 
made  addresses  at  a  series  of  meetings  and  conferences 
held  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn  to  consider  the  religious 
aspects  of  the  reform  to  favor  a  prohibitory  amendment  to 
the  State  Constitution,  the  introduction  of  scientific  tem- 
perance instruction  in  the  public  schools,  the  temperance 
needs  of  the  freedmen,  and  kindred  topics.  It  was  his  habit 
to  send  temperance  books  —  often  one  or  two  volumes, 
sometimes  almost  a  library  —  to  individuals,  societies, 
Sabbath-schools,  institutions,  railroad  employes,  or  others 
in  special  need  of  such  reading.  During  the  war  he  aided 
in  supplying  temperance  literature  to  the  army,  and  more 
recently  he  gave  much  attention  to  the  effort  to  scatter 
temperance  books  and  papers  among  the  colored  people 
of  the  South. 

He  participated  in  securing  the  tribute  to  Mrs.  President 
Hayes  for  her  brave  devotion  to  principle  in  excluding 
spirituous  liquors  from  the  White  House.  He  believed 
her  portrait  hanging  in  the  executive  mansion  would  be  a 
perpetual  incentive  in  the  struggle  to  reform  social  drink- 
ing customs  at  the  capital  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
country. 

Mr.  Dodge  never  joined  any  distinct  temperance  order 
until  near  the  close  of  his  life,  when  he  united  in  establish- 
ing a  division  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  in  connection 
with  a  church  near  his  country  residence  at  Tarrytown,  on 
the  Hudson ;  and  then  the  chief  motive  was  to  bring  under 
the  influence  of  such  an  organization  a  gentleman  in  whom 
he  had  become  interested. 

Mr.  Dodge  had  deep  convictions  respecting  the  power 
and  responsibility  of  personal  example.  He  accepted  in 
the  fullest  measure  the  apostle's  rule  of  action  (Rom.  xiv. 
21) :  "  It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor 
anything  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or 
is  made  weak."  He  could  not  see  it  to  be  consistent  for 
one  who  professed  to  obey  the  word  of  God,  and  to  be 


EFFORTS  FOR  TEMPERANCE.  165 

a  follower  of  Him  who  came  not  to  please  Himself,  to 
indulge  in  the  use  of  wine  or  ardent  spirits  of  any  kind. 
However  harmless  they  might  seem  to  be  to  the  person 
himself,  there  could  never  be  a  time  when  such  indulgence 
might  not  prove  a  deadly  snare  to  some  immortal  soul  at 
his  side,  —  perhaps  a  child  at  his  table,  an  associate  in  busi- 
ness, a  family  friend,  a  casual  acquaintance,  a  servant  in 
the  house ;  or  it  might  be  a  mere  passer-by,  unknown  and 
unnoticed,  but  one  who  knew  him,  and  would  gauge  his 
own  conduct  by  the  example  before  him ;  or  it  would  be 
some  reformed  man  struggling  half  despairingly  with  his 
old  enemy,  and  it  needed  but  this  one  glimpse  of  a  self- 
indulgent  professor  of  religion  to  turn  the  fatal  scale. 

In  this  matter  Mr.  Dodge  was  not  willing  to  allow  in 
himself  even  the  appearance  of  evil.  He  would  not  occupy 
any  position  that  seemed  to  countenance  in  any  form  the 
use  of  alcoholic  drinks.  He  severed  his  connection  with 
one  of  the  leading  social  organizations  of  the  city  when  he 
found  that  a  considerable  portion  of  its  income  was  derived 
from  supplying  its  members  with  wines.  He  was  loath 
to  sanction  the  use  of  alcohol  as  a  medicine,  not  merely 
because  of  the  pernicious  adulterations,  now  so  well  ascer- 
tained, but  because  he  doubted  its  efficacy  as  a  remedial 
agent,  and  especially  because  of  the  constant  and  painful 
revelations  from  every  quarter  of  confirmed  drinking  habits 
resulting  from  remedies  prescribed  by  physicians. 

Mr.  Dodge  held  his  temperance  views  as  intelligently 
and  tenaciously  as  his  religious  convictions.  His  temper- 
ance was  part  of  his  religion ;  both  were  firmly  grounded 
upon  love  to  God  and  love  to  man.  He  maintained  these 
principles  at  all  times  and  in  every  company,  not  obtru- 
sively, not  uncharitably,  but  frankly,  affectionately,  earn- 
estly ;  and  while  in  public  addresses  he  enjoyed  so  general 
a  welcome,  the  singular  persuasiveness  of  his  private  con- 
versation and  personal  attraction  will  long  be  remembered 
by  many  who  sought  his  counsel  or  were  sought  out  by 


1 66  EFFORTS    FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

him.  Such  transparent  love  and  faithfulness  in  word  and 
manner  could  not  often  be  resisted ;  yet  the  patience  and 
solicitude  with  which  in  some  cases  he  would  follow  indi- 
viduals for  months,  or  even  years,  can  never  be  known 
beyond  the  circle  of  those  who  were  privileged  to  see  how 
—  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  Master  —  he  went  out 
to  seek  the  lost,  or  by  those  who  through  his  persistent 
devotion  were  themselves  permitted  in  their  own  experi- 
ence to  know  the  joy  of  the  saved. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

EFFORTS   FOR  THE   INDIANS. 

/T>HE  injustice  and  inhumanity  which  so  long  disgraced 
J.  our  national  treatment  of  the  Indians  are  hap- 
pily giving  place  to  methods  more  in  harmony  with  the 
requirements  of  a  Christian  civilization. 

The  growth  of  public  sentiment  on  this  subject  led,  in 
1867,  to  the  appointment  of  a  joint  committee  of  Con- 
gress to  investigate  abuses  in  the  administration  of  Indian 
affairs.  This  official  inquiry  revealed  still  more  glaringly 
the  extraordinary  wrongs  perpetrated  under  authority  of 
the  Government  or  by  its  citizens.  A  peace  commission, 
consisting  chiefly  of  army  officers  of  high  rank,  was  soon 
after  despatched  to  make  treaties  with  several  of  the  tribes 
and  to  endeavor  to  avert  a  fresh  outbreak  of  hostilities. 
The  report  of  these  officers  declared  that  the  wars  waged 
by  Indians  were  caused  by  the  uniform  injustice  with 
which  they  were  treated. 

An  organization,  formed  in  New  York  and  known  as  the 
United  States  Indian  Commission,  presented,  in  July,  1868, 
an  urgent  memorial  to  Congress,  setting  forth  the  reasons 
for  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians  in  the  want  of  good 
faith  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  the  unprovoked  out- 
rages by  white  citizens,  the  unlawful  occupation  of  their 
lands,  and  the  fraudulent  acts  of  agents  in  distributing 
appropriations.  The  petition  closed  by  suggesting  the 
appointment  of  men  of  trustworthy  character,  independent 
of  political  party,  and  not  to  be  remunerated  from  the 
public  treasury. 


1 68  EFFORTS   FOR  THE   INDIANS. 

The  next  year  saw  the  introduction  of  the  "  peace  pol- 
icy "  proposed  and  sustained  by  President  Grant.  His 
first  step  on  assuming  office  had  been  to  substitute  every- 
where army  officers  for  Indian  agents ;  but  as  this  failed  to 
effect  any  marked  improvement,  he  now  resolutely  adopted 
a  system  that  was  intended  to  transfer  the  management  of 
Indian  affairs  to  a  board  of  not  more  than  ten  commis- 
sioners, selected  "  from  men  eminent  for  their  intelligence 
and  philanthropy,"  who  would  serve  without  pecuniary 
compensation.  They  were  to  act  under  the  direction 
of  the  President,  and  to  exercise  joint  control  with  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  over  the  disbursement  of  the 
appropriations. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  requested  to  become  one  of  these  com- 
missioners. The  letter  announcing  his  appointment  reads 
as  follows :  — 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 
April  15,  1869. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  The  President  has  directed  me  to  invite  you  to 
become  one  of  the  Commission,  provided  for  by  the  late  Act  of 
Congress,  to  act  as  auxiliary  to  this  Department  in  the  supervision 
of  the  work  of  gathering  the  Indians  upon  reservations,  etc. 

The  Commission  will  serve  without  pay,  except  for  expenses 
actually  incurred  in  travelling,  and  it  is  expected  to  act  both  as 
a  consulting  board  of  advisers  and  (through  their  sub-committees) 
as  inspectors  of  the  agencies,  etc.,  in  the  Indian  country. 

The  design  of  those  who  suggested  the  Commission  was  that 
something  like  a  Christian  Commission  should  be  established, 
having  in  view  the  civilization  of  the  Indian,  and  laboring  to 
stimulate  public  interest  in  this  work,  while  co-operating  with  the 
Department  in  the  specific  purpose  mentioned. 

(Signed)  J.  D.  Cox,  Secretary. 

The  names  of  the  other  members  were  the  Hon.  Felix 
R.  Brunot,  Pittsburg  ;  William  Welsh  and  George  H. 
Stuart,  Philadelphia;  John  V.  Farwell,  Chicago;  Robert 


EFFORTS   FOR  THE  INDIANS.  169 

Campbell,  St.  Louis ;  E.  S.  Tobey,  Boston ;  the  Hon.  H.  S. 
Lane,  Indiana ;  and  Dr.  Nathan  Bishop,  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Brunot,  subsequently  chairman  of  the  Commission, 
writes  in  regard  to  its  formation  and  work :  — 

"  Few  of  these  gentlemen  at  first  seemed  to  think  acceptance 
possible,  owing  to  the  magnitude  and  pressure  of  their  private 
duties.  Only  the  reasonable  request  accompanying  the  official 
letter,  asking  that  no  adverse  reply  be  made  until  a  meeting  for 
consultation  could  be  held  in  Washington,  prevented  Mr.  Dodge 
and  several  others  from  declining  the  honor  at  once.  But  when, 
after  full  consultation  with  the  President,  the  Secretary,  the  Indian 
Committees  of  Congress,  and  with  each  other,  they  were  convinced 
that  the  opportunity  presented  itself  to  prevent  the  threatened 
Indian  war,  to  reform  the  long  corrupt  administration  of  Indian 
affairs,  to  change  the  policy  of  injustice  and  wrong,  of  warfare 
and  extermination,  for  that  of  honesty  and  fair  dealing,  and  to 
inaugurate  practical  measures  for  the  civilization,  education,  and 
Christianization  of  the  Indian,  they  felt  compelled  to  accept  the 
trust." 

Mr.  Thomas  K.  Cree,  at  one  time  secretary  of  this 
Board  of  Commissioners,  describes  the  original  design  and 
method  of  operation  of  the  scheme  now  inaugurated  :  — 

"  The  members,  in  consultation  with  the  President,  divided  up 
the  seventy  Indian  agencies  among  the  different  religious  denomi- 
nations, giving  a  fair  proportion  to  each.  The  missionary  boards 
or  some  kindred  authority  were  asked  to  name  the  seventy  agents, 
who  in  turn  had  the  appointing  of  some  nine  hundred  subor- 
dinates. Thus  the  management  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  Indians  —  civilized,  half-civilized,  and  barbarous  —  was 
handed  over  to  the  Church,  every  branch  of  which  was  asked 
to  assist  in  the  work.  The  intention  was  that  all  the  employes 
should  be  Christian  men  and  women,  with  salaries  ranging  from 
six  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  The  call  was 
for  doctors,  teachers,  farmers,  blacksmiths,  millers,  etc.  Thus  it 
was  expected  that  nearly  a  thousand  Christian  men  and  women 
would  go  among  the  Indians,  and  by  precept  and  example  Chris- 
tianize, civilize,  and  educate  them.  It  was  the  grand  opportunity 


170  EFFORTS   FOR  THE  INDIANS. 

of  the  Church.  Unfortunately  the  Church  failed  to  see  the  great 
opening.  In  some  cases  men  who  were  not  even  professing  Chris- 
tians were  named  as  agents,  and  it  was  exceptional  where  the 
subordinate  positions  were  filled  by  Christian  men ;  some  of  the 
agents  were  appointed  by  local  and  political  influence  exerted 
upon  the  mission  boards ;  some  could  not  resist  the  opportunities 
so  abundantly  offered  for  making  money  dishonestly;  and  the 
subordinates  were  often  men  of  no  character  whatever.  Yet 
this  system,  grand  in  its  conception,  but  imperfectly  carried  out, 
secured  agents  who  as  a  class  were  honest,  and  went  with  the 
intention  of  doing  what  they  could  for  the  service  and  for  the 
Indian." 

Mr.  Brunot's  account  of  the  work  of  the  Board  states 
that  — 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  member  of  each  of  the  most  important 
committees,  and  engaged  in  the  duties  involved  with  his  usual 
energy  and  good  judgment.  His  high  appreciation  of  the  objects 
aimed  at,  and  their  feasibility,  made  him  from  the  outset  an  earnest 
supporter  of  the  peace  policy." 

His  services  on  the  Purchasing  Committee  and  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  were  highly  valued  by  his  colleagues. 
The  Purchasing  Committee,  which  supervised  the  contracts 
and  buying  of  goods  and  subsistence  supplies  for  the  In- 
dians, reformed  at  once  the  abuses  in  that  department  by 
inaugurating  methods  suggested  by  their  long  business 
experience ;  thus  saving  millions  to  the  Government,  and 
by  the  quality  of  the  goods  convincing  the  Indians  that  an 
era  of  honest  dealing  had  come. 

Visits  to  the  Indian  country  by  the  sub-committees 
unearthed  frauds,  and  their  perpetrators  were  compelled 
to  make  way  for  honest  men ;  causes  for  discontent  were 
discovered  and  removed,  and  threatened  outbreaks 
prevented.  The  objections  of  the  Indians  to  schools  were 
also  largely  overcome. 

In  1869  Mr.  Dodge,  with  Mr.  Brunot  and  the  late  Dr. 
Nathan  Bishop,  made  a  long  and  laborious  journey  to 


EFFORTS   FOR  THE  INDIANS.  I/I 

visit  the  Indians  of  the  Southern  Plains.  The  Committee 
was  more  than  thirty  days  beyond  the  reach  of  mails, 
and  their  personal  observations,  together  with  those  of 
Mr.  Farvvell  among  the  California  Indians,  largely  supplied 
the  material  of  the  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Board. 

One  of  Mr.  Dodge's  letters,  written  from  a  point  in  the 
Indian  Territory  sixty  miles  north  of  the  Texas  line,  gives 
some  description  of  this  trip  :  — 

"CAMP  WITCHITA,  MEDICINE  BLUFF  CREEK, 

"Aug.  21,  1869. 

"  We  arrived  here  after  a  fatiguing  journey  of  eighteen  days  over 
the  plains.  We  had  from  Fort  Hays,  Kansas,  where  we  started, 
an  escort  of  forty  soldiers  ;  one  ambulance  and  four  mules  for  Mr. 
Bishop,  the  doctor,  our  clerk,  and  the  cook ;  while  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Brunot  and  wife  and  myself  had  a  small  carriage,  like  a  depot- 
wagon,  with  two  fine  gray  mules.  If  it  had  not  been  for  our  hav- 
ing a  chance  to  buy  this  carriage,  the  ladies  must  have  turned 
back.  Then  we  had  two  large  six-mule-wagons  for  our  tents, 
baggage,  beds,  eating  arrangements,  etc.,  and  two  more  for  the 
troops  and  their  forage,  making  quite  a  respectable  force,  and  com- 
pelling us  to  travel  at  army  rate,  —  say  twenty  to  twenty-eight  miles 
a  day,  according  as  we  found  wood  and  water  for  our  camp.  The 
first  six  days  were  over  a  vast  prairie,  without  a  drop  of  water  or  a 
tree  for  miles  together,  or  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  But  after 
we  crossed  the  north  fork  of  the  Canadian  River  we  found  an 
entire  change,  the  prairie  more  rolling,  and  land  of  the  very  best 
quality ;  the  grass  and  weeds,  in  places,  growing  as  high  as  the 
top  of  the  carriage,  and  covering  the  trail  so  completely  that  every 
few  miles,  with  all  our  efforts  in  sending  men  ahead,  we  were 
often  detained  in  trying  to  find  it.  The  country  became  more 
and  more  beautiful  as  we  continued  our  course  south.  After 
leaving  Camp  Supply  we  found  ourselves  amid  vast  herds  of  buf- 
falo. We  had  every  chance  to  see  the  excitement  of  chasing  and 
killing  them.  We  had  good  saddle-horses,  and  the  ladies  have 
taken  turns  in  riding,  and  I  have  generally  ridden  twelve  to  fifteen 
miles  each  day.  We  have  managed  to  get  on  with  the  discomforts  of 
our  three  weeks'  camp-life  very  well,  thanks  to  a  kind  Providence. 
What  we  should  have  done  without  the  tin  cans  of  fruits,  milk,  and 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE   INDIANS. 

vegetables,  I  hardly  know.  We  had  fresh  meat  almost  every  day, 
—  venison,  buffalo,  birds,  etc.  Think  of  our  travelling  over  four 
hundred  miles,  and  not  seeing  a  single  human  being  except  at  Fort 
Dodge  and  Camp  Supply,  near  which  the  Indians  are  gathered  ! 
At  the  point  where  we  now  are,  and  within  twenty  miles  around, 
some  six  thousand  Indians  have  been  brought  together.  There  are 
six  tribes,  —  the  Kiowas,  Comanches,  Apaches,  Wichitas,  Wacos, 
and  what  are  called  here  the  '  affiliated '  Indians,  made  up  of  several 
remnants  of  once  large  tribes.  The  agency  is  under  the  charge  of 
the  Quakers,  who  are  taking  hold  in  good  earnest.  Their  agent 
has  several  hundred  acres  of  corn  and  other  crops  planted.  Yester- 
day we  met  in  council  some  fifty  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  all  these 
tribes.  It  was  a  most  interesting  occasion.  We  had  native 
speeches  that  would  have  done  credit  to  any  people  in  the  world. 
Some  of  the  young  men  in  one  band  of  Comanches,  who  came  in 
last  week  from  the  mountains  with  a  hundred  and  twenty  lodges, 
had  never  seen  a  white  man.  They  are  among  the  wildest  of  the 
Indians.  To-day  three  to  four  thousand  have  encamped  near  by 
to  receive  from  us  a  present  of  sixteen  hundred  pounds  of  sugar 
and  eight  hundred  pounds  of  coffee,  which  the  head  men  will  dis- 
tribute to  each  lodge .  according  to  the  number  in  the  families. 
Every  man,  woman,  and  child  has  a  horse  or  pony.  The  day  of 
our  arrival  we  passed  six  large  camps,  with  thousands  of  horses 
grazing.  We  have  still  four  hundred  miles  of  slow  travel  before 
we  can  reach  the  railroad;  but  we  dismiss  our  escort  at  Fort 
Arbuckle,  and  can  then  go  somewhat  faster." 

The  council  held  at  Camp  Supply  was  with  the  Chey- 
ennes  and  Arapahoes.  The  official  report  says:  "The 
talk  was  in  many  respects  more  satisfactory  than  we  anti- 
cipated, and  the  result  we  hope  will  be  very  important." 
Mr.  Dodge's  remarks  were  as  follows:  — 

"  Brother  of  the  Arapahoe  and  Cheyennes,  we,  the  commissioners 
from  the  President,  the  Great  Father,  have  come  this  long  journey 
to  see  you  and  to  let  you  know  that  the  good  white  people  love 
the  Indians  and  want  to  do  them  good.  We  have  come  to  see 
you,  and  take  you  by  the  hand,  and  say  good  words  to  you.  We 
know  there  are  some  bad  white  men  who  have  come  among  you, 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE  INDIANS.  173 

and  have  cheated  you,  and  made  you  think  the  white  man  is  your 
enemy.  We  want  you  to  look  at  your  present  position  and  see 
that  the  white  man  is  inclosing  and  surrounding  you,  and  that 
railroads  will  be  built  through  the  country  and  will  soon  drive  away 
the  buffalo,  and  then  you  will  have  nothing  to  depend  upon.  We 
want  you  to  decide  to  settle  down  in  one  place,  and  each  to  select 
your  home,  cultivate  the  land,  and  learn  to  support  yourselves,  and 
become  part  of  the  American  people  and  children  of  the  Great 
Father.  There  are  a  great  many  people  East  who  love  the  In- 
dians. They  wish  to  save  the  Indian  from  ruin.  They  remember 
that  many  moons  ago  the  red  man  lived  where  the  white  man  now 
lives ;  but  they  are  gone.  The  great  tribes  called  the  Narragan- 
setts,  Mohicans,  Mohawks,  Stockbridges,  the  Delawares,  the  Onei- 
das,  Senecas,  and  Tuscaroras,  have  passed  away  before  the  white 
man,  while  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and  Creeks,  who  have  gone 
on  reservations,  have  lived  and  prospered.  Now,  we  want  you  to 
begin  to  live  like  the  white  men.  Cultivate  your  land,  and  we 
will  send  good  men  to  teach  your  children  to  work,  to  read  and 
write ;  and  then  they  will  grow  up  and  be  able  to  support  them- 
selves after  the  buffalo  has  gone. 

"  You  must  not  drink  whiskey  if  you  want  to  do  well.  We  are 
glad  to  see  you  here  to-day,  and  hope  all  will  be  peace." 

One  immediate  and  unexpected  result  of  this  council 
was  an  agreement  on  the  part  of  Medicine  Arrow,  chief 
of  the  Cheyennes,  to  bring  in  all  the  Northern  members  of 
his  tribe,  with  their  lodges,  women,  and  children,  and  place 
them  under  the  United  States  authorities,  if  the  commis- 
sioners would  promise  them  protection  and  peace.  The 
Committee  promptly  drew  up  and  signed  a  formal  paper 
giving  the  desired  pledge. 

The  council  held  a  few  days  afterwards,  August  2Oth, 
was  at  the  Kiowa  and  Comanche  agency,  near  Fort  Sill, 
Indian  Territory.  The  report  states  that  "  General  Grier- 
son  introduced  the  commissioners,  and  Mr.  Brunot,  as 
chairman  of  the  Committee,  then  stated  that  when  the 
white  people  held  a  great  council  they  always  asked 
the  great  God  an'd  Creator  of  all  men  to  give  them 


174  EFFORTS  FOR  THE  INDIANS. 

wisdom  and  incline  their  hearts  to  speak  the  truth. 
Mr.  Dodge  then  opened  the  council  with  a  short  prayer, 
the  chiefs  rising  and  standing  respectfully."  After  Mr. 
Brunot  and  some  of  the  chiefs  had  spoken,  Mr.  Dodge 
said :  — 

"  We  have  come  a  great  way  from  the  East  to  see  you.  We  are 
not  Indian  agents.  We  live  at  home  and  have  our  own  business ; 
but  the  Great  Father  sent  us  to  see  you.  We  have  not  come  to 
make  treaties  or  to  make  presents.  But  the  Great  Father  has 
heard  many  stories.  There  are  good  Indians  and  bad  ones ;  good 
whites  and  bad  ones.  We  are  come  to  hear  what  you  have  to 
say,  and  will  report  it  to  the  Great  Father.  He  and  all  the  good 
whites  want  the  Indians  to  do  well  and  to  come  and  live  here  on 
their  reservations,  and  they  will  be  protected ;  but  if  the  young 
men  wander  off  and  go  on  the  war-path  into  Texas  or  elsewhere, 
they  must  be  punished. 

"  The  Great  Father  does  not  want  to  give  you  guns  or  powder, 
but  wants  you  to  have  clothing,  food,  and  farming  implements,  and 
to  help  you  to  raise  corn  and  support  yourselves.  He  will  be 
careful  to  send  you  good  agents  hereafter,  who  will  give  you  all 
that  is  promised.  He  wants  you  to  cultivate  your  lands  and  be- 
come a  part  of  this  great  nation. 

"  Bad  white  men  have  given  whiskey  to  the  tribes  in  the  East, 
and  they  have  all  perished  from  it.  Keep  it  away  from  you." 

The  commissioners  reached  Fort  Harker  September  4, 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge  arrived  in  New  York  two  weeks 
later. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  American  Board,  held  in  Pitts- 
burg  during  the  following  month,  Mr.  Dodge  presented 
the  report  of  a  committee  upon  the  Indian  missions.  The 
successful  efforts  of  the  Society  in  planting  churches  and 
schools  among  some  of  the  Indian  tribes  were  recounted, 
and  special  reference  was  made  to  the  gratifying  interest 
of  the  President,  and  his  appointment  of  the  Indian  Com- 
mission. After  reading  the  report,  Mr.  Dodge  spoke  of 
his  recent  journey,  and  concluded  by  saying:  — 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE  INDIANS.  175 

"  We  came  back  with  the  conviction  that  the  time  had  arrived 
when  the  Indians,  driven  from  their  accustomed  haunts  on  the 
plains  and  in  the  mountains,  must  seek  some  different  location, 
where,  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Government,  they  may  be 
tutored  in  the  habits  of  civilization  by  the  aid  of  schools  which  the 
Government  has  promised  to  establish,  and  by  the  efforts  of  Chris- 
tians throughout  the  land. 

"  Remembering  what  God  has  done  for  us,  and  what  we  have 
just  heard  he  is  now  doing  among  the  Dakotas,  we  believe  the 
people  of  the  United  States  must  awaken  to  a  sense  of  their  re- 
sponsibility to  do  something  to  save  these  men, — many  of  them 
wild  as  the  savages  on  the  plains  of  Africa,  —  poor  wanderers,  so 
long  oppressed,  neglected,  abused,  and  feared ;  so  long  standing  in 
the  way  of  the  settlement  of  our  borders.  They  are  the  last  remnant 
of  the  aborigines  of  our  country.  Let  us  rescue  them  from  exter- 
mination. We  are  convinced  they  may  yet  become  a  blessing  to 
us  and  to  the  nation." 

In  March,  1870,  he  wrote  to  the  "New  York  Times"  an 
indignant  comment  on  the  massacre,  in  Montana,  of  the 
Piegan  Indians  by  United  States  troops.  After  referring 
to  the  facts  as  detailed  in  the  official  report,  he  says :  — 

"  Shall  gratitude  to  our  military  men  for  their  noble  efforts  dur- 
ing our  late  war  cause  us  to  attempt  to  extenuate  their  crime, 
while  as  a  nation  we  cover  our  faces  with  shame  before  the  world  ? 
We  must  change  our  policy,  or  nothing  can  be  done  to  save  even 
a  remnant  of  those  who  once  owned  our  soil.  Whole  tribes  must 
not  be  held  responsible  for  the  outrages  of  those  of  the  tribe  who 
break  away  and  steal,  kill,  and  destroy  on  their  own  account. 
Whoever  is  responsible  for  this  late  outrageous  murder  of  women 
and  children  should  be  held,  at  least  by  the  public,  to  a  strict 
reckoning." 

A  deputation  of  Cheyenne,  Arapahoe,  and  Wichita 
chiefs  visited  the  East  in  June,  1871,  to  confer  with  the 
Government  concerning  the  settlement  of  boundaries. 
They  came  to  New  York,  and  had  a  large  public  reception 
at  Cooper  Institute.  Mr.  Cooper  himself  presided,  and 


1 76  EFFORTS   FOR  THE  INDIANS. 

speeches  were  made  by  Little  Raven,  Buffalo  Good,  and 
others,  in  which  the  injuries  suffered  by  the  Indians  were 
narrated  and  denounced.  In  Mr.  Dodge's  remarks  he 
said  that  — 

"  He  had  met  these  chiefs  in  their  own  country.  The  Indians 
had  told  the  audience  a  simple  story,  but  it  was  the  story  of  two 
hundred  years.  Ever  since  the  landing  of  our  ancestors  on  Plym- 
outh Rock  the  Indians  have  had  the  same  tale  to  tell.  Where  are 
the  Mohawks  and  the  Six  Nations  of  this  State,  whom  our  chair- 
man, Mr.  Cooper,  remembered  in  his  youth  ?  All  swept  away  ! 
The  land  which  Americans  now  boast  of  as  their  own,  once  be- 
longed to  the  Indian  ;  and  now  he  is  driven  hither  and  thither  by 
the  railroads,  looking  for  a  spot  upon  which  to  place  his  foot.  The 
nation  had  made  them  many  promises,  but  they  were  unfulfilled  to 
this  day.  General  Grant's  military  experience  had  taught  him  that 
something  ought  to  be  done  to  save  a  remnant  of  these  people ; 
and  the  policy  of  his  Administration,  if  it  can  be  carried  out,  will  be 
to  place  the  Indians  on  their  reservations  and  educate  them,  and 
train  them  to  walk  in  the  white  man's  path.  What  we  now  wanted 
was  to  use  a  little  of  the  money  that  had  been  spent  in  slaughtering 
them  to  educate,  elevate,  and  Christianize  them.  It  was  the  duty 
of  citizens  to  create  public  opinion  on  this  subject." 

Of  the  work  of  the  Indian  Board  during  the  time 
Mr.  Dodge  and  the  other  original  members  retained  their 
connection  with  it,  Mr.  Brunot  adds :  — 

"  An  examination  of  the  five  annual  reports,  —  comprising  more 
than  a  thousand  printed  pages,  —  the  files  of  the  Record  Office  at 
Washington,  and  the  columns  of  the  public  Press  during  the  years 
of  this  service,  show  the  extent  and  importance  of  the  gratuitous 
services  of  the  members.  Performing  many  onerous  duties,  work- 
ing out  important  reforms,  and  forwarding  by  every  means  in  their 
power  the  wise  and  beneficent  policy  inaugurated  by  President 
Grant,  the  Board  was  continued,  with  but  few  changes,  as  at  first 
organized,  until  1874.  Five  years  of  trial  have  proved  this  policy 
to  be  a  success  beyond  the  anticipation  of  its  friends.  The  country 
has  been  almost  entirely  saved  from  Indian  wars.  Millions  of 
money  have  been  saved  to  the  Government  and  to  the  Indians  by 


EFFORTS   FOR  THE  INDIANS.  177 

the  breaking  up  of  rings,  the  discovery  and  prevention  of  frauds, 
the  unearthing  and  dismissal  of  dishonest  agents,  the  scrutiny  of 
contracts  and  accounts,  and  in  many  other  ways.  It  is  a  cause  of 
gratification  to  the  friends  of  the  deceased  members,  as  it  is  doubt- 
less also  to  the  survivors  of  the  original  Board,  that  their  recom- 
mendations have  in  the  main  been  adopted  as  the  avowed  policy 
of  successive  Administrations.  Humane  and  just  treatment  of  the 
Indians,  no  more  making  and  breaking  of  treaties,  education  and 
industrial  training  in  schools,  individual  ownership  of  lands,  the 
protection  of  civil  law  and  amenability  to  its  requirements,  and  the 
rights  of  citizenship  as  soon  as  they  can  be  prepared  for  it,  are 
now  demanded  by  the  general  public  sentiment  of  the  country  as 
the  solution  of  the  Indian  problem." 

The  reasons  which  led  to  the  resignation  of  the  remain- 
ing original  members  of  the  Board  were  not  officially 
recited.  They  preferred  to  say  little  rather  than  run  the 
risk  of  exciting  a  conflict  with  the  public  authorities  that 
might  prove  disastrous  to  the  final  establishment  of  a  pol- 
icy they  so  much  desired  to  see  successful.  Mr.  Brunot 
says  :  — 

"  The  signers  of  the  letter  of  resignation  were  reticent  on  the 
subject ;  but  it  is  known  that  differences  with  the  Department  of 
the  Interior,  which  could  only  be  removed  by  changes  in  the  per- 
sonnel of  that  Department,  in  the  Indian  Office,  and  in  the  field,  — 
which  the  President  was  not  prepared  to  make,  —  left,  in  their 
judgment,  no  other  alternative." 

At  the  time  Mr.  Dodge,  in  response  to  inquiries,  gave 
this  general  explanation :  — 

"  It  was  distinctly  understood  that  the  commissioners  were  to 
serve  without  compensation.  Since  our  organization,  four  mem- 
bers, unable  to  give  the  matter  the  attention  it  deserved,  have  with- 
drawn, and  their  places  have  been  filled  by  others.  I  do  not  wish 
to  say  anything  derogatory  to  the  new  members  when  I  state  that 
in  several  instances  they  have  been  delegated  by  the  Department 
of  the  Interior  for  special  service  to  the  Indians,  and  have  been 
paid  by  the  Department  a  fixed  sum  per  day ;  so  that  although 


1/8  EFFORTS  FOR  THE  INDIANS. 

they  did  not  receive  salaries,  they  were  really  paid  employes. 
There  were  also  controversies  with  the  Department,  which  impaired 
to  some  extent  the  usefulness  of  the  Commission.  Then,  again,  in 
regard  to  the  granting  of  contracts  for  Indian  supplies  there  was 
trouble.  Under  the  former  management  contracts  were  often 
awarded  to  a  favored  few.  We  endeavored  to  have  justice  done 
to  the  Indians,  and  therefore  designated  certain  points  at  which 
supplies  were  to  be  delivered,  and  we  had  the  materials  examined 
there  to  see  if  they  were  of  proper  quality.  It  would  be  found, 
however,  that  after  giving  out  a  contract  to  a  party  outside  of  the 
Indian  ring,  he  would  throw  it  up,  and  the  award  would  be  given 
to  some  one  whom  the  commissioners  desired  to  avoid. 

"They  had,  moreover,  authority  to  audit  all  bills  relating  to 
Indian  affairs,  but  the  ultimate  power  to  pay  was  left  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior ;  and  so,  after  the  commissioners  had  examined 
a  bill  carefully,  and  had  decided  against  its  payment,  it  frequently 
occurred  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  Secretary  the  bill  should  be 
paid,  —  and  yet  the  public  held  the  commissioners  responsible. 
General  Grant  was  right  at  heart  as  to  his  policy  in  regard  to  the 
Indians,  and  our  experience  has  increased  our  confidence  that 
under  proper  management  it  will  be  ultimately  successful ;  but  we 
did  not  wish  to  cause  any  agitation  which  might  be  unfavorable  to 
his  efforts.  A  new  department  should  be  organized,  distinct  from 
and  independent  of  the  Interior  Department,  and  an  able  man 
placed  at  its  head." 

The  papers  of  the  day  did  not  feel  any  obligation  to 
keep  silent  respecting  these  official  corruptions.  The  per- 
sistent efforts  of  the  Indian  Bureau  and  the  connivance  of 
the  then  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  thwart  the  action  of 
the  Commission  and  sustain  the  Indian  ring  of  large  con- 
tractors, were  freely  exposed ;  and  although  an  effort  was 
made  to  fill  the  vacancies  in  the  Board,  —  chiefly  by  the 
appointment  of  politicians,  —  the  confidence  of  the  public 
in  the  Indian  Commission  was  never  revived. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  made  chairman  of  a  committee  ap- 
pointed in  1880  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  to  present  a  memorial  to  the  Government, 


EFFORTS   FOR  THE   INDIANS.  179 

asking  for  the  extension  of  the  law  over  the  Indian  tribes, 
individual  ownership  of  land,  the  support  of  common 
schools,  and  the  enjoyment  of  full  religious  liberty.  The 
Committee  had  an  interview  with  President  Hayes  in  Jan- 
uary, 1 88 1,  and  received  from  him  expressions  of  the 
warmest  sympathy.  They  also  saw  subordinate  officers 
and  had  a  hearing  before  the  Indian  Committees  of  both 
Houses  of  Congress.  As  a  new  Administration  soon  after 
came  into  power,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  following 
year  continued  and  enlarged  this  Committee,  and  it  again 
appeared  at  Washington,  praying  that  national  legislation 
should  ensure  to  the  Indians  "  American  education, 
American  homes,  American  rights,  and,  as  the  outgrowth 
of  this,  American  citizenship." 

It  may  be  stated  also  that  the  efforts  to  educate  Indian 
youth  at  Hampton  and  at  Carlisle  were  watched  by  Mr. 
Dodge  with  cordial  interest,  and,  that  he  aided  in  the  sup- 
port of  some  of  these  scholars  in  both  institutions. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

EFFORTS   FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 

FROM  childhood  to  old  age,  missions  to  the  heathen 
had  for  Mr.  Dodge  a  peculiar  attraction.  It  was 
more  than  mere  sentiment,  or  the  impulse  of  a  large  heart. 
It  was  a  deep-seated  principle,  founded  upon  religious 
conviction  and  definite  knowledge  of  the  unevangelized 
nations.  He  read  the  command,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  as  if  it  were 
addressed  to  him  personally.  He  felt  an  individual  re- 
sponsibility; and  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability,  and  in  no 
small  measure,  he  did  go,  by  gifts,  by  prayer,  by  counsel, 
by  words  of  encouragement  and  hope,  into  almost  every 
corner  of  the  globe. 

He  began  early  to  think  and  work  for  missions.  Nur- 
tured by  parents  of  deep  piety  and  wide  views,  —  espe- 
cially by  a  mother  full  of  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen,  —  and  growing  up  when  the  missionary  spirit  was 
beginning  to  pervade  the  churches  and  homes  of  New 
England,  he  became  penetrated  with  the  motives  and 
aspirations  of  the  great  commission.  His  first  practical 
effort  was  a  "  missionary  potato-patch."  When  about 
thirteen  years  of  age  he  heard,  in  the  village  church,  an 
appeal  in  behalf  of  Obookiah,  a  poor  waif  from  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  who  had  found  his  way  to  the  steps  of 
Yale  College,  and  manifested  such  eagerness  to  be  educated 
and  sent  back  to  teach  his  own  countrymen  that  a  fund 
was  raised,  and  he,  with  four  or  five  other  natives,  was 
placed  at  school  in  Cornwall,  Conn.  The  young  people 


EFFORTS  FOR  FOREIGN   MISSIONS.  l8l 

of  Bozrahville,  where  Mr.  Dodge's  family  then  resided, 
had  little  money  to  contribute ;  but  William  proposed  to  a 
few  companions  to  raise  potatoes  for  this  missionary  fund. 
He  obtained  his  father's  permission  to  cultivate  a  piece 
of  swamp-land  near  by.  The  boys  took  their  spare  time 
to  get  the  soil  into  good  condition,  and  their  small  stock 
of  pocket-money  to  buy  potatoes  for  planting.  The  sea- 
son proved  unusually  dry,  and  most  crops  suffered ;  but 
their  industrious  tilling  and  damp  soil  produced  a  large 
return,  and  the  boys  increased  their  profits  by  delivering 
and  storing  away  the  potatoes  with  their  own  hands.  The 
money  they  received  was  invested  in  sheeting  and  other 
material,  which  the  girls  made  up ;  and  William  was  com- 
missioned to  carry  the  parcel  to  Cornwall.  He  was  wont 
to  say,  "  I  never  in  my  life  felt  more  proud  or  happy. 
From  the  time  of  this  missionary  potato-patch  everything 
I  touched  seemed  to  prosper."  Some  one  has  added, 
"  He  was  not  only  cultivating  potatoes,  but  a  missionary 
spirit  in  his  own  heart,  the  fruitage  of  which  can  only  be 
revealed  in  Eternity."  Obookiah  died  soon  after;  but  a 
sympathy  was  awakened,  which  gave  an  impulse  to  the 
planting  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  Mission.  Mr.  Dodge 
was  personally  acquainted  with  many  of  the  earlier  mis- 
sionaries to  these  islands,  and  always  followed  them  with 
interest,  often  contributing  to  special  features  of  their 
work. 

This  mission  was  one  of  the  first  and  most  prosperous 
undertaken  by  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions.  While  still  a  young  man  Mr. 
Dodge  became  a  member  of  this  Society,  in  1857  he  was 
made  a  corporate  member,  and  in  1864  he  was  chosen 
vice  president,  and  annually  re-elected  to  this  ofHce  until 
his  death.  No  corporation  or  board  with  which  he  was 
ever  connected  had  more  of  his  affection  or  confidence. 
He  was  in  closest  sympathy  with  its  distinctly  evangeli- 
cal aims,  its  broad  views,  and  its  practical  methods.  No 


1 82  EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

similar  organization  in  any  land  has  surpassed  it  in  wisdom 
and  vigor  of  administration,  in  the  hold  it  has  maintained 
upon  its  constituency,  or  in  the  success  it  has  been  per- 
mitted to  chronicle. 

Every  step  of  this  long  and  honored  history  was  familiar 
and  sacred  to  Mr.  Dodge.  He  loved  its  secretaries,  he 
cherished  its  missionaries,  he  read  its  journals,  he  watched 
each  new  advance,  he  prayed  often  and  fervently  for  its 
prosperity,  he  gave  to  it  liberally,  conscientiously,  joyfully, 
and  he  took  undisguised  delight  in  its  great  assemblies. 
The  year  to  him  seemed  incomplete  if  he  failed  to  be 
present  at  the  annual  meeting.  The  reason  must  be  ur- 
gent that  could  keep  him  away.  Of  his  presence  there, 
the  home  secretary  of  the  Board,  the  Rev.  E.  K.  Alden, 
D.D.,  writes,  Aug.  29,  1883:  — 

"We  shall  never  forget  the  peculiar  eagerness  with  which  he 
leaned  fonvard,  intent  on  every  word  presented  in  our  papers,  or 
in  the  addresses  connected  with  them ;  and  more  especially  his 
face,  which  was  literally  radiant  when  some  particularly  thrilling 
tidings  were  communicated,  or  some  unusually  stirring  summons 
was  given." 

Only  fragmentary  reports  of  his  addresses  on  these 
occasions  can  be  found,  and  chiefly  from  newspaper  ac- 
counts or  rough  notes  of  his  own.  His  remarks  were 
usually  impromptu,  directed  to  the  point  under  immediate 
discussion,  but  coming  from  a  full  heart,  quick  percep- 
tion, adequate  knowledge,  and  long  experience. 

In  the  fall  of  1862  the  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Spring- 
field, Mass.  The  war  was  then  raging,  and  taxing  heavily 
the  resources  of  the  country.  The  finances  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  had  suffered  materially  from  the  depreciation 
of  the  currency  and  the  heavy  cost  of  foreign  exchange. 
A  debt  had  been  incurred,  and  the  question  arose  as  to 
what  advance  upon  the  appropriations  of  the  previous  year 
would  now  be  justified.  The  "  Springfield  Republican  " 


EFFORTS   FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS.  183 

of  that  date  gives  some  account  of  the  discussion;  and 
after  referring  to  the  remarks  of  several  of  the  business 
men  of  the  Board,  adds :  — 

"  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge  was  loudly  called  for  by  the  audience. 
He  at  last  responded  in  words  earnest  and  effective.  He  thought 
the  debt  was  nothing,  —  not  worth  mentioning ;  it  was  a  mere 
balance  of  account  carried  over  to  the  next  year.  The  future 
must  be  looked  after.  We  must  go  up  higher.  A  new  step  must 
be  taken  at  this  point,  when  money  is  more  plenty  than  ever  before 
in  the  country.  He  should  like  to  have  $500,000  raised  for  the 
Board  the  ensuing  year,  but  thought  that  perhaps  $450,000  would 
be  more  practicable.  To  this  he  himself  would  contribute  $10,000. 
He  wished  the  Prudential  Committee  and  secretaries  could  have 
twice  as  much  faith  in  the  power  and  willingness  of  the  people. 
More  must  be  asked  for,  and  they  would  get  it." 

The  fifty-eighth  annual  meeting  assembled  in  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y.,  October,  1867. l  The  prominent  topic  was 
the  claims  of  China  upon  Christians  in  America.  Mr. 
Dodge  was  on  the  Special  Committee  to  which  the  paper, 
prepared  by  one  of  the  secretaries,  was  referred.  "  A 
speedy  enlargement  of  the  missionary  force  in  that  em- 
pire" was  recommended,  and  Mr.  Dodge  spoke  as  follows 
in  support  of  the  resolutions :  — 

"  There  has  never  been  an  hour  in  the  history  of  the  Board  of 
more  solemn  interest  than  that  upon  which  we  have  now  fallen. 
We  are  proposing  to  undertake  the  stupendous  work  of  evangeliz- 
ing China.  We  stand  here,  pledging  the  American  Board  before 
the  world  to  assume  a  large  share  in  this  vast  enterprise.  China  ! 
China  !  How  the  population  of  all  our  States  and  Territories,  and 
of  our  greatest  cities,  sinks  into  insignificance  in  comparison  with 
its  myriads  of  heathen  !  We  come  here  this  afternoon  to  look 
this  momentous  proposition  in  the  face,  to  enter  upon  the  work. 
We  have  not  reached  this  point  hastily;  God  has  been  prepar- 
ing China  and  preparing  us.  The  barriers  are  removed.  The 
Bible  is  being  translated  into  her  languages ;  and  by  the  facilities 

1  Reported  by  the  New  York  Evangelist 


1 84  EFFORTS   FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 

of  modern  intercourse  she  is  brought  nearer  to  us  than  England 
was  fifty  years  ago.  Soon  we  shall  have  almost  daily  intercourse. 
Are  we  able  to  go  up  and  possess  the  land  ?  What  do  our  pastors 
think?  What  do  our  churches  think,  with  the  immense  wealth 
poured  into  our  laps  the  last  few  years?  The  question  is,  shall 
we  pamper  ourselves  and  our  children  with  it,  and  turn  it  into  a 
curse,  or  shall  we  make  it  a  blessing?  Evangelize  China  with 
it,  and  by  so  doing  save  our  own  households.  Then,  instead 
of  folly  and  luxury  and  questions  as  to  whether  dancing  and  cards 
are,  in  themselves,  wrong,  we  should  become  ourselves  evangelized, 
and  be  lifted  above  all  such  considerations." 

The  following  year,  1868,  the  Board  met  at  Norwich, 
Conn.  At  one  of  the  sessions  the  Rev.  S.  B.  Treat,  D.D., 
the  home  secretary,  presented  an  able  plea  for  enlarged 
efforts.1  Mr.  Dodge  followed  in  earnest  support  of  the 
positions  taken,  saying :  — 

"  By  the  reading  of  this  paper  we  have  been  carried  back  a  half 
century,  and  have  seen  what  God  has  done.  We  were  told  yesterday 
that,  instead  of  being  in  debt,  the  year  closes  with  a  balance  in  our 
favor.  We  ought  to  be  grateful  for  what  we  have  been  enabled  to 
accomplish ;  but  when  we  reflect  upon  all  the  circumstances,  it 
may  not,  after  all,  be  so  much  a  cause  of  congratulation. 

"  Twenty  years  ago  our  contributions  in  one  year  were  $254,000  ; 
in  1857-58  they  were  $334,000;  in  1867-68  they  amounted  to 
$535,000.  This  would  be  gratifying  if  we  occupied  the  same 
position  as  in  previous  years.  But  we  gave  then  in  gold  —  now 
in  a  depreciated  currency.  The  chief  expenditures  of  the  Board 
are  in  foreign  countries.  Making  allowance  for  exchange,  our 
contributions  for  last  year  were  $321,000,  while  in  1858-59  they 
were  $388,000.  Besides,  the  cost  of  living  in  those  countries  is 
greater  now  than  twenty  years  ago  by  at  least  thirty-three  and  a 
third  per  cent.  And  what  is  our  ability  now  compared  with  former 
times  ?  The  wealth  of  this  country  is  to-day  estimated  to  be  twenty 
thousand  millions  of  dollars.  We  have  passed  through  the  ordeal 
of  war,  but  God  has  dealt  with  us  as  with  no  other  nation  before  ! 
Our  land  has  never  increased  in  wealth  as  during  these  six  years. 

1  Reported  by  the  Bulletin. 


EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN   MISSIONS.  185 

For  an  illustration,  five  thousand  miles  of  railroad  have  been  con- 
structed at  a  cost  of  $175,000,000.  God  has  been  bringing  the 
world  together.  The  missionary  work  is  everywhere  expanding, 
and  yet  there  is  difficulty  in  securing  means  to  send  out  laborers. 

"  Much  of  this  is  owing  to  the  neglect  of  the  monthly  concert. 
We  act  as  if  missions  were  understood  by  everybody,  and  there 
was  no  need  of  comment  or  explanation.  Twenty  years  ago  the 
missionary  cause  was  constantly  urged  upon  the  churches ;  it  is 
not  so  now." 

This  was  often  the  tenor  of  Mr.  Dodge's  remarks  when 
the  finances  of  the  Board  were  under  discussion.  He  re- 
joiced at  every  advance  in  gifts  at  home  or  labors  abroad ; 
but  with  his  jealousy  for  the  honor  of  his  Master,  his  high 
sense  of  the  obligation  and  the  ability  of  the  churches,  and 
his  knowledge  as  a  business  man  of  the  growing  resources 
of  the  country,  he  feared  that  success  might  be  over- 
estimated, or  effort  be  relaxed.  This  was  particularly 
noticeable  at  the  meeting  of  1869  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.1  Reso- 
lutions were  presented  urging  further  advance  and  still 
greater  liberality.  Mr.  Dodge  says :  — 

"  It  has  so  happened  that  I  have  been  selected  from  time  to 
time  to  speak  before  this  Board  on  the  financial  question.  I  have 
spoken  so  often  about  it,  sir,  that  I  almost  hesitate  when  requested 
to  respond  to  these  resolutions ;  but  I  will  begin  by  saying  that 
with  all  my  heart  I  join  in  the  sentiments  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving to  God  for  all  the  way  in  which  he  has  led  this  Board  during 
these  sixty  years,  —  constantly  going  before  us,  opening  the  path 
from  year  to  year  and  encouraging  the  heart  of  his  people,  and 
crowning  us  with  prosperity  beyond  our  most  sanguine  hopes,  and 
certainly  beyond  anything  we  have  deserved.  And  now,  sir,  I 
should  be  sorry,  did  I  not  feel  it  a  duty,  to  say  anything  that 
would  in  any  way  tend  to  discourage  the  jubilant  feelings  which 
have  been  manifested  at  all  the  sessions,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
our  receipts  the  past  year  have  been  in  advance  of  former  years, 
and  that  God  has  so  interposed  as  signally  to  deliver  us  from  an 

1  Reported  by  the  Daily  Commercial. 


1 86  EFFORTS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

apprehended  debt  I  have  feared  that  so  much  has  been  said  on 
this  point  that  we  might  go  down  to  our  business,  our  churches, 
and  our  house -work  without  really  being  stimulated  to  greater 
activity.  During  the  past  year  we  have  given  to  this  noble  work 
#525,000.  This  is  a  large  sum  taken  by  itself,  but  it  is  a  small 
sum  in  view  of  the  number  interested  in  the  American  Board  and 
the  means  God  has  placed  in  the  hands  of  his  Church.  It  is  a 
small  sum,  an  insignificant  sum,  when  we  look  over  a  dying  world 
and  remember  that  Christ  left  the  realm  of  glory  and  came  to 
earth  to  die  for  perishing  men,  and  that  he  has  laid  upon  us  the 
solemn  charge  to  make  known  the  way  of  eternal  life.  We  have 
met  here ;  we  have  gone  up  high  on  the  mount ;  we  have  seen 
the  teeming  millions  pressing  on  to  death.  We  have  said  in  our 
hearts  :  '  We  are  ready ;  do  not  curtail ;  let  no  mission  be  weak- 
ened ;  go  boldly  forward ;  enter  China ; '  and  yesterday  we  said, 
'  Take  up  the  great  work  of  evangelizing  Japan.'  We  have  con- 
sidered also  the  wants  of  the  heathen  in  our  own  country,  —  the 
Indians.  We  have  cried,  '  Let  it  all  be  done  ! '  But  the  American 
Board  has  no  invested  funds.  Appropriations  are  made,  relying 
upon  the  liberality,  the  earnestness,  the  faith  of  the  churches.  Our 
hearts  are  warm  here ;  the  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 
shine  down  upon  us  as  we  listen  to  the  reports  and  hear  the  mis- 
sionaries. But  there  is  danger  that  we  may  go  back  to  our  offices 
and  our  home  cares,  and  forget  the  weighty  obligation  resting  upon 
us.  We  must  get  down  upon  our  knees,  and  with  the  word  of 
God  in  our  hands  we  shall  obtain  clearer  views  of  our  true 
accountability." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  movement  now  so  mar- 
vellous a  power  in  the  Church,  and  doing  abroad  a  work 
so  wide  and  useful,  —  "  Woman's  Work  for  Missions,"  — 
had  its  rise.  As  he  closed  his  remarks  on  this  occasion  at 
Pittsburg,  Mr.  Dodge,  with  his  ready  sympathy,  and  in  the 
familiar  style  which  was  no  small  part  of  the  attractiveness 
of  his  public  addresses,  gave  this  new  line  of  effort  a  hearty 
recognition :  — 

"  I  was  rejoiced  yesterday,  at  the  close  of  the  morning  meeting, 
when  I  went  down  to  join  my  wife  at  the  First  Presbyterian 


EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  187 

Church,  to  see  the  band  of  devoted  women  assembled  there,  and 
beginning  to  enter  with  the  true  spirit  upon  the  work  they  have 
undertaken.  We  hear  much  about  women's  rights  :  here  is  some- 
thing the  women  of  this  country  can  take  hold  of,  and  nobody  will 
object.  They  behold  the  women  of  the  East  shutting  themselves 
out,  or  shut  out  by  others,  from  the  instructions  of  the  men  we 
send  to  those  lands ;  but  the  female  missionary  and  the  Bible- 
reader,  with  their  warm  hearts,  can  reach  them,  and  the  noble 
women  of  our  churches  are  waking  up  to  the  fact." 

Among  some  pencil  notes,  evidently  prepared  for  a 
meeting  of  the  American  Board  at  which  he  was  to 
preside,  Mr.  Dodge  quotes  several  missionary  texts,  and 
adds  :  — 

"As  we  have  listened  to  these  commands  and  promises,  and 
then  looked  out  upon  the  world  and  have  seen  its  hundreds  of 
millions  yet  sitting  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death,  how  often 
have  we  felt  as  if  these  commands  could  never  be  followed  or  these 
promises  ever  be  fulfilled  !  But  God's  ways  are  not  our  ways,  nor 
his  thought  as  our  thoughts,  and  in  his  own  way  and  his  own  time 
the  earth  shall  be  full  of  his  glory ;  and  to  those  of  us  who  have 
been  permitted  to  live  since  the  first  systematic  organization  of 
missionary  societies,  and  have  witnessed  the  wonderful  changes  in 
facilities  for  reaching  the  heathen  and  in  the  machinery  for  carry- 
ing on  missionary  operations,  God  has  been  at  work  all  these  fifty 
years,  —  not  simply  to  prepare  the  way  for  commerce,  to  facilitate 
the  intercourse  of  mankind  and  the  development  of  the  arts  and 
sciences,  but  to  open  the  world  to  the  gospel,  and  make  known  the 
news  of  salvation  to  the  most  distant  and  benighted  nations." 

At  the  meeting  held  at  Syracuse,  1879,  a  special  appeal 
was  made  for  medical  men  to  go  out  to  the  foreign  field. 
On  his  return  Mr.  Dodge  wrote  from  his  country-seat 
a  long  and  urgent  letter  to  a  young  physician.  Some 
extracts  are  given :  — 

CEDAR  CLIFF,  Oct.  12,  1879. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  returned  last  evening  from  the  meeting  of  the 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  at  Syracuse ;  and  it  was  in  some  respects  the  most 
important  and  interesting  I  have  attended,  although  in  the  con- 


1 88  EFFORTS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

stant  habit  of  being  present  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It  was 
my  pleasure  again  to  meet  your  good  father  and  mother ;  and  as 
we  talked  of  our  children  I  heard  from  them  of  your  love  for  your 
profession,  and  also  that  you  were  considering  a  change  of  place. 
Thinking  it  over  on  my  way  home,  I  concluded  I  would  venture  to 
write  to  ask  you  to  consider  the  question  of  responding  to  the 
earnest  call  to  some  of  the  most  important  posts  in  the  world, 
especially  in  China  and  Japan.  I  am  sure  if  you  had  been  present 
and  heard  the  appeal  for  a  well-educated  Christian  physician  to  go 
to  a  large  city  near  Pekin,  in  the  midst  of  a  populous  district  with 
forty  millions  speaking  the  same  dialect,  you  would  have  felt  like 
saying,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me."  I  know  of  no  place  where  there  is 
a  prospect  of  greater  usefulness,  or  where  a  young  man  could  go 
with  a  better  hope  of  rising  to  a  high  and  enviable  position,  both 
doing  immediate  good  and  becoming  one  of  the  instruments,  in 
God's  providence,  of  introducing  the  changes  which  are  to  open 
to  the  world  that  long  separated  nation.  During  the  late  destruc- 
tive famine  the  people  there  learned  the  value  of  English  and 
American  physicians,  and  they  are  not  only  ready  but  anxious  to 
have  them  come.  China  is  not  the  far-off  country  it  was  when  our 
Boston  and  New  York  merchants  went  there  fifty  years  ago.  Then 
it  was  indeed  a  sacrifice ;  but  they  did  it  for  the  sake  of  trade.  I 
have  felt  very  often  that  if  I  were  a  young  man  I  should  long  to  be 
identified  with  the  great  moral  and  material  changes  to  take  place 
among  those  distant  nations.  As  one  evidence  of  what  may  be 
done  by  going  to  such  a  land  instead  of  settling  down  here,  let  me 
mention  the  case  of  a  young  Hollander  who  came  to  the  United 
States  after  receiving  a  good  education  at  home,  and  having  also 
learned  a  trade,  as  is  customary  in  his  country.  He  was  an  active 
Christian,  and  I  heard  of  his  holding  religious  services  and  con- 
ducting a  Sunday-school  at  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  where  he  was  working 
at  his  trade  as  an  iron-founder.  There  was  need  of  some  one  to 
preach  to  the  Hollanders  of  that  region  in  their  own  tongue,  and 
I  proposed  to  this  young  man  to  enter  upon  a  preparation  for  the 
ministry  with  this  object  in  view.  He  readily  assented  ;  but  when 
he  was  about  to  graduate  at  Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  a  mis- 
sionary from  Japan  (the  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown,  D.D.)  heard  of  him 
and  begged  him  to  go  out  and  labor  among  his  own  countrymen, 
the  remnant  of  the  colony  of  Hollanders  who  settled  in  Japan  a 


EFFORTS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  189 

century  ago.  He  came  to  New  York  to  consult  with  me,  and  I 
advised  him  by  all  means  to  go.  He  married,  and  sailed  for  Japan 
twenty  years  ago.  His  abilities  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Government,  and  by  consent  of  the  Mission  he  accepted  the  post 
of  official  interpreter,  and  was  subsequently  appointed  to  a  high 
position  in  the  educational  system  of  the  country.  After  many 
years  he  rejoined  the  Mission.  No  one  can  ever  estimate  the  good 
done  by  this  one  missionary  (now  the  Rev.  G.  F.  Verbeck,  D.D., 
of  Tokio)  among  that  interesting  people.  During  the  last  few 
weeks  my  nephew,  Dr.  A.  G.  P.  Atterbury,  a  young  physician  of 
high  attainments  and  admirable  preparation,  has  given  up  bright 
prospects  at  home  and  sailed  for  China  under  appointment  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  to  be  stationed  at  Pekin. 
If  he  lives  I  have  every  confidence  he  will  make  his  mark.  May 
I  not  venture  to  ask  you  to  examine  this  matter  carefully,  and 
see  if  the  way  is  not  clear  for  you  to  accept  this  urgent  invita- 
tion ?  Will  not  the  prospect  of  the  vast  good  you  may  do  there 
compensate  for  any  sacrifice  you  will  make  in  leaving  home  and 
friends  ? 

In  1880  Mr.  Dodge  was  present  at  the  meeting  in 
Lowell,  Mass.,  and  as  presiding  officer  of  one  of  the 
sessions  introduced  Narayan  Sheshadri,  the  converted 
Brahmin,  in  whose  visit  to  America  he  had  taken  much 
interest. 

In  October,  1881,  Mr.  Dodge  was  in  Paris,  confined  to 
his  room  by  an  injury.  The  Rev.  Mark  Hopkins,  D.D., 
president  of  the  Board,  was  there  at  the  same  time,  and 
together  they  sent  a  letter  to  the  semi-centennial  meeting 
of  the  Congregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales,  to 
which  body  they  had  been  requested  to  bear  the  greetings 
and  congratulations  of  the  American  Board.  Just  four 
months  previous  to  his  death  Mr.  Dodge,  for  the  last 
time,  attended  one  of  these  great  annual  gatherings  he  so 
highly  prized.  The  meeting  was  held  at  Portland,  Me., 
October,  1882.  He  seems  to  have  made  unusual  prepara- 
tion, and  to  have  taken  the  deepest  interest  in  all  the  pro- 
ceedings. He  presided  at  some  of  the  sessions,  and  several 


190  EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

times  took  part  in  the  deliberations  or  made  addresses. 
On  taking  the  chair  at  one  of  the  evening  services  he 
remarked :  — 

"  Whatever  may  have  been  the  necessity  or  expediency  of  these 
public  gatherings  in  the  early  history  of  the  American  Board,  no 
one  can  doubt  that,  in  the  present  aspect  of  our  country,  we  can- 
not do  without  them.  Pressed  as  we  are  by  varied  and  constant 
excitements  and  cares,  it  is  good  for  us  occasionally  to  turn  aside, 
and  going  up  into  the  mountain,  from  which  the  world  shall  for 
a  time  be  excluded,  have  an  opportunity  to  look  back  over  all  the 
way  in  which  God  has  led  us.  In  the  early  days  of  the  Board 
the  heathen  were  very  far  off.  I  remember  as  a  boy  the  interest 
felt  when  the  earlier  missionaries  were  being  sent  out  from  New 
England,  where  my  parents  then  resided.  It  was  nearly  a  year 
before  we  heard  of  the  arrival  of  the  second  company  in  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  They  made  the  passage  in  the  small  and  uncom- 
fortable cabin  of  a  whale-ship.  And  when  Myron  Winslow,  our 
near  neighbor,  married  Miss  Lathrop,  of  Norwich,  and  sailed  for 
India,  it  seemed  an  age  before  news  came  of  their  landing  in  safety. 
Now  our  missionaries  are  borne  to  the  ocean  by  express  trains, 
and  cross  the  water  on  noble  steamships;  and  when  they  reach 
their  destination,  can  cable  back  in  the  shortest  conceivable  time. 
In  view  of  such  changes,  and  of  the  facts  presented  to  us  at  this 
meeting ;  in  view  of  the  wonderful  record  of  the  past,  and  of  the 
names  so  fragrant  in  the  remembrance  of  this  Board,  —  what  does 
God  expect  us  to  do?  The  secretaries  unite  in  saying  we  must 
have  at  least  $600,000.  Can  we  raise  such  a  sum  ? 

"A  half-dozen  men  are  invited  into  a  room  in  New  York  or 
Boston.  Some  one  from  the  West  brings  a  map  and  shows  a  line 
of  railroad  to  be  built ;  it  will  take  five  millions  of  dollars.  Before 
leaving  that  room  the  arrangements  have  been  made  and  the 
money  subscribed.  We  have  in  hand  a  work  infinitely  above  the 
construction  of  any  railroad,  and  we  have  a  constituency  of  over 
three  hundred  thousand  members.  If  each  one  would  contribute 
five  cents  a  week,  we  should  have  much  more  than  is  asked  for. 
God  has  not  given  all  the  wealth  of  this  country  to  the  world  :  he 
has  given  a  vast  amount  of  it  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  he  has 
given  it  that  we  may  use  it  for  his  glory." 


EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  191 

At  this  meeting  a  crisis  was  reached  in  the  question  of 
appropriations  for  the  coming  year.  In  the  midst  of  the 
anxious  deliberations  a  scene  occurred  which  will  not 
soon  be  forgotten  by  those  present.  It  is  thus  described 
in  the  columns  of  the  newspapers :  — 

"There  was  a  higher  pitch  of  interest  than  on  the  previous 
day,  which  culminated  when  Dr.  Alden,  of  the  home  department, 
referring  to  the  spent  Otis-legacy  and  the  fact  that  yesterday 
brought  no  relief  in  the  way  of  definite  provision  for  future  expen- 
diture on  the  scale  of  the  past,  said,  '  God  appeared  wonderfully 
for  our  deliverance  from  debt  at  the  meeting  in  Providence.  Our 
hope  is  in  him.  It  is  fitting  we  should  ask  him  to  help  us  in  our 
weakness  and  need.'  Mr.  Dodge  immediately  inquired  if  some- 
thing could  not  be  done  now,  and  added  with  much  feeling, '  I  will 
double  my  offering  of  last  year.'  Many  others  on  the  platform 
followed,  until  nearly  $30,000  were  pledged ;  and  in  response  to  a 
warm  and  tender  suggestion  of  Dr.  Webb,  nearly  all  the  audience 
rose  to  their  feet,  promising  to  do  the  same, — namely,  to  double 
the  giving  of  last  year.  In  the  midst  of  this  thrilling  hour,  in  which 
praying  issued  in  giving,  earnest  words  were  spoken  by  different 
pastors  and  laymen." 

Recalling  this  occasion  some  months  later,  Dr.  Alden 
writes :  — 

"To  me  personally,  Mr.  Dodge's  prompt  and  hearty  response 
at  that  impressive  Portland  meeting,  when  he  arose  and  quietly 
announced  that  his  subscription  for  the  year  would  be  doubled, 
will  abide  forever  in  most  sacred  memory ;  and  with  it  the  manner 
in  which  he  afterwards  spoke  to  me  about  it  in  private." 

On  the  Sabbath  after  Mr.  Dodge's  death,  in  a  discourse 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  Richard  S.  Storrs,  D.D.,  of  Brooklyn, 
the  speaker  referred  to  his  long  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Dodge,  and  to  a  conversation  with  him  on  the  train  as 
they  rode  home  together  from  Portland,  and  of  the  mod- 
esty with  which  he  spoke,  not  in  regard  to  what  he  had 
been  able  to  do  for  any  good  cause,  but  of  the  comfort 


192  EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 

and  peace  that  came  to  him  in  the  effort  to  do  good,  aside 
from  any  wisdom  or  success  in  his  plans. 

Mr.  Ezra  Farnsworth,  a  member  of  the  Prudential 
Committee  of  the  American  Board,  writes  to  one  of  the 
sons,  Aug.  23,  1883  :  — 

"As  the  time  approaches  for  closing  up  our  accounts,  we  cannot 
forget  your  honored  father,  whose  generous  gift  always  came  to 
swell  the  amount.  This  year  our  receipts  have  been  materially 
increased  by  the  noble  movement  he  started  at  Portland.  As  he 
looks  down  from  that  Better  Land,  how  grateful  he  must  be  that 
he  had  the  privilege  of  making  such  a  pledge  ! " 

The  affectionate  regard  in  which  Mr.  Dodge  was  held 
by  all  the  members  of  the  American  Board  was  touchingly 
manifested  at  the  annual  meeting  at  Detroit  in  the  October 
following  his  death.  Dr.  Alden  writes,  Nov.  17,  1883  : 

"  The  fresh  remembrance  of  Mr.  Dodge  seemed,  if  possible,  a 
greater  power  than  even  his  living  presence.  It  was  illustrated  in 
nearly  every  address  most  tenderly  and  beautifully." 

In  the  welcome  to  the  Board  by  the  Rev.  Z.  Eddy,  D.D., 
of  Detroit,  this  reference  occurs :  — 

"  One  whom  we  counted  much  on  seeing  and  hearing  is  not 
present  in  the  body ;  but  may  we  not  believe  he  is  nevertheless 
with  us,  though  our  eyes  see  him  not?  How  we  all  miss  that 
genial  face  !  How  we  shall  miss  his  wise  counsels,  his  enthusiasm, 
his  earnest  appeals,  his  exemplary  beneficence  !  '  The  memory  of 
the  just  is  blessed.'  Had  I  the  power,  I  would  now  and  here  erect, 
on  a  high  pedestal,  a  life-size  statue  of  the  princely  merchant,  the 
great  manufacturer,  the  large-minded  patriot,  the  genuine  phi- 
lanthropist, the  munificent  friend  of  missions,  the  humble,  devoted 
Christian,  But  I  cannot  erect  such  a  monument,  except  in 
imagination. 

"  Something,  however,  I  can  do  to  show  my  love  to  this  good 
and  great  man.  Soon  after  his  death  one  of  his  sons  sent  me  a 
photograph  of  our  lamented  friend.  It  is  too  small  to  be  seen 
distinctly  by  the  audience,  but  several  young  ladies  and  children 
of  my  congregation  have  framed  it  with  flowers  and  set  it  against 


EFFORTS   FOR   FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  193 

a  cross,  suspending  above  it  a  crown.      Here  is  the  inscription  : 
'  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life.'  " 

In  his  report  the  home  secretary  says :  — 

"  Has  not  the  hour  fully  arrived  for  a  marked  advance,  which 
shall  appropriately  inaugurate  a  new  period  of  greatly  enlarged  be- 
nevolence, giving  us  an  impulse  for  another  quarter  of  a  century  ? 
Who  at  the  present  meeting  will  be  impelled  by  the  Divine  Spirit 
to  lead  the  way  in  this  important  work?  Could  we  once  more 
behold  upon  our  platform  the  figure  of  the  late  honored  and  be- 
loved Vice-President  of  this  Board,  leaning  forward,  intent,  as  was 
his  wont,  his  face  lighted  up  at  every  fresh  utterance,  summoning 
to  more  earnest  missionary  devotion,  we  could  none  of  us  doubt 
what  would  be  his  response  to  this  renewed  and  imperative  call 
for  more  enlarged  liberality.  '  He,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh,'  and 
for  years  to  come  will  continue  to  speak  through  his  generous 
remembrance  of  this  great  missionary  work,  so  dear  to  him  and  to 
her  who  during  all  these  years  has  shared  with  him  in  these  con- 
secrated gifts.  Could  he  speak  from  the  loftier  eminence  to  which 
he  has  been  lifted  in  fellowship  with  others  whose  names  spring  to 
our  lips,  with  whom  he  was  here  so  long  associated,  who  for  one 
instant  could  question  what  his  words  would  be? " 

The  venerable  President  of  the  Board,  the  Rev.  Mark 
Hopkins,  D.D.,  whom  Mr.  Dodge  had  long  revered  and 
warmly  loved,  also  speaks  of  this  meeting,  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  Mrs.  Dodge,  Nov.  23,  1883:  — 

"  Everybody  missed  your  husband  at  Detroit,  but  probably  no 
one  so  much  as  myself,  by  whose  side  he  had  sat  at  those  meet- 
ings for  so  many  years.  The  meeting  was  not  to  me  what  it  would 
have  been.  To  me  everything  connected  with  your  husband  is 
sacred,  for  he  was  one  of  the  best  examples  I  have  known  of  a 
true  saint,  —  a  consecrated  man, — not  retiring  from  men,  but  in 
the  very  centre  of  activity  devoting  himself,  his  time,  his  energies, 
his  wealth,  with  the  heart  of  a  child  and  the  wisdom  of  age,  to  their 
good." 

When  the  union  between  the  Old  and  New  Presbyterian 
Churches  took  place,  and  the  Boards  of  the  consolidated 

13 


194 


EFFORTS   FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 


body  were  organized,  Mr.  Dodge  concurred  in  the  wisdom 
and  propriety  of  the  expectation  that  Presbyterians  who 
had  thus  far  co-operated  with  Congregationalists  in  sus- 
taining the  missions  of  the  American  Board,  should  now 
connect  themselves  with  the  Foreign  Board  of  their  own 
church. 

He  also  approved  of  the  action  of  the  American  Board 
in  allowing  three  of  its  missions  to  go  with  these  departing 
friends.  He  believed  these  changes  would  promote  the 
best  interests  of  both  bodies ;  but  personally  he  was  not 
willing  to  sever  his  connection  with  the  beloved  organiza- 
tion whose  history,  labors,  and  representatives,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  had  from  his  earliest  days  held  so  large 
a  place  in  his  thoughts  and  affections.  And  yet  he  would 
be  loyal  to  the  new  and  better  condition  of  his  own  de- 
nomination. He  had  himself  taken  an  active  part  in 
securing  the  long-desired  union.  He  therefore  resolved 
to  labor  with  both  of  the  Foreign  Boards,  and  to  divide 
between  them  his  ordinary  yearly  subscriptions.  This 
was  sometimes  five  thousand  dollars,  but  more  frequently 
in  later  years  ten  thousand  dollars.  He  also  often  re- 
sponded to  special  appeals  in  connection  with  both  bodies, 
and  again  and  again  gave  —  at  times  large  sums  —  to  mis- 
sionary undertakings  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  either.  In 
his  will  he  made  provision  for  a  legacy  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars  to  each  of  these  Boards,  to  be  paid  in  ten  annual 
instalments.  For  twelve  years  he  served  as  a  member  of 
"  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,"  and  was 
still  holding  that  position  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Shar- 
ing in  the  counsels  of  both  organizations,  and  following 
the  operations  of  each  with  continual  prayers  and  gifts,  his 
unique  position  was  perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  a  char- 
acteristic largeness  of  vision  and  sympathy  that  recog- 
nized, not  so  much  dividing  lines,  as  one  common  work, 
and  that  was  eager  to  use  all  agencies  and  take  advantage 
of  every  opportunity  to  obey  the  last  command  of  his  Lord. 


EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  195 

On  one  occasion,  when  financial  affairs  in  the  country 
were  much  disturbed,  and  his  own  had  suffered,  he  was 
debating  how  he  should  make  his  usual  donations  to 
foreign  missions.  As  he  sat  at  his  office  desk,  a  letter 
was  placed  before  him.  On  opening  it,  a  check  for  five 
thousand  dollars  appeared,  and  a  moment's  reading  showed 
it  to  be  the  payment  of  an  old  claim  long  before  marked 
off  as  worthless.  He  at  once  interpreted  it  as  an  indica- 
tion that  God  intended  him  to  give  the  customary  amount ; 
and  he  never  again  hesitated.  It  was  his  spirit  of  broad 
charity,  and  that  extended  acquaintance  with  missionary 
fields  and  workers,  gained  by  so  many  years  of  consulta- 
tion and  oversight,  that  made  Mr.  Dodge  ready  to  encour- 
age enterprises  which  could  not  be  legitimately  supported 
by  the  funds  of  the  great  societies,  but  which  received 
their  impulse  from  these  bodies,  or  were  the  direct  out- 
growth of  their  operations. 

Thus  he  became  a  trustee  of  the  Oahu  College,  Hono- 
lulu, and  of  the  Bible  House,  Constantinople;  he  aided 
the  Jaffna  College,  Ceylon,  the  Training-school  at  Kiyoto, 
Japan,  Roberts  College,  Constantinople,  Central  Turkey 
College,  Aintab,  and  Liberia  College,  Africa.  He  sup- 
ported several  students  for  the  ministry  at  Marsovan, 
Turkey,  and  helped  others  who  came  to  this  country. 
He  took  pleasure  in  supplying  some  special  outfit  for 
missionaries,  or  sending  apparatus,  books,  bells,  or  other 
needed  articles,  to  their  schools  and  churches.  He  had  pe- 
culiar sympathy  for  disabled  or  aged  missionaries,  and  was 
prompt  to  meet  their  wants.  He  shared  in  providing  the 
memorial  house  for  the  Rev.  Rufus  Anderson,  D.D.,  so 
long  foreign  secretary  of  the  American  Board,  and  a  friend 
whom  Mr.  Dodge  profoundly  esteemed.  He  was  for  many 
years  an  active  member  and  supporter  of  the  American  and 
Foreign  Christian  Union,  and  was  interested  in  establishing 
the  American  Chapel  at  Paris,  and  in  efforts  among  the 
papal  populations  of  Europe,  Brazil,  and  elsewhere. 


196  EFFORTS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

His  largest  foreign  gifts,  outside  of  the  ordinary  chan- 
nels, were  directed  to  Syria.  In  1862,  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  American  Board,  held  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  he 
met  the  Rev.  Daniel  Bliss,  for  several  years  a  missionary 
on  Mount  Lebanon,  and  now  sent  by  the  Syria  Mission  to 
solicit  co-operation  in  founding  at  Beirut  a  college  which 
should  provide  a  literary  and  scientific  education  for  young 
men  speaking  the  Arabic  language.  The  institution  was 
to  be  distinctly  missionary  in  its  aims;  evangelical,  but  un- 
sectarian;  a  co-worker  with  the  Mission,  yet  organically 
independent,  having  separate  funds  and  its  own  board  of 
control.  Mr.  Dodge,  from  the  first,  looked  with  favor 
upon  the  project.  He  saw  its  possibilities  of  large  useful- 
ness in  promoting  the  enlightenment  of  Syria  and  the 
countries  adjacent.  With  five  other  friends  of  missions  — 
also  members  of  the  American  Board  —  he  united  in  se- 
curing an  act  of  incorporation  and  forming  a  board  of 
trustees  under  the  title  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College. 
For  twenty  years  he  discharged  the  duties  of  treasurer, 
and  was  himself  the  constant  and  largest  contributor. 
In  his  will  he  left  twenty  thousand  dollars  additional  to 
increase  the  permanent  scholarship-fund.  In  1872,  during 
a  visit  to  the  East,  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  main 
building,  four  other  buildings  being  subsequently  erected. 
He  loved  to  call  this  college  a  lighthouse  in  the  midst  of 
Oriental  darkness,  and  he  lived  to  see  it  send  out  more 
than  a  hundred  and  fifty  graduates  —  nearly  half  from  the 
medical  department  —  to  occupy  important  positions  as 
physicians,  teachers,  ministers,  or  in  other  spheres  to  be 
useful  members  of  society ;  and  besides  these  a  large 
number  who  did  not  complete  the  entire  course. 

One  of  his  sons,  the  Rev.  D.  Stuart  Dodge,  has  been 
connected  with  this  enterprise  from  the  beginning. 

Mr.  Dodge  likewise  aided  in  erecting  at  Beirut  the 
Female  Seminary,  the  Mission  Church,  and  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary. 


EFFORTS   FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  197 

It  was  Mr.  Dodge's  delight  to  receive  missionaries  at  his 
own  table  and  home;  and  something  of  his  wide  interest  in 
different  fields  can  doubtless  be  traced  to  this  cherished 
intercourse.  He  also  kept  his  sympathies  warm  by  being 
a  constant  reader  of  missionary  intelligence. 

The  tidings  of  his  death  found  sincere  mourners  in  dis- 
tant places  of  the  earth.  One  of  them  wrote,  "  Every 
missionary  must  feel  as  if  he  had  lost  a  personal  friend." 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

CHURCH   RELATIONS. 

AN  old  and  esteemed  friend,  Mr.  Robert  Carter,  writing 
of  Mr.  Dodge  (Feb.  12,  1883),  says:  "Just  after  I 
came  to  the  city,  in  1832,  I  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
Tract  Society,  at  which  Mr.  Dodge,  then  a  young  man, 
made  a  stirring  address.  I  asked  who  the  speaker  was,  and 
learned  he  was  a  merchant  in  active  business,  but  quite 
as  active  in  his  Master's  work."  Mr.  Dodge's  Christian 
activity  embraced  almost  every  department  of  official  or 
personal  service  in  the  church,  and  every  form  of  social 
or  private  life.  In  his  church  relations  he  frequently 
helped  to  gather  the  funds  and  erect  the  building,  he 
served  as  trustee,  ruled  as  elder,  was  representative  to 
ecclesiastical  bodies,  officiated  at  the  desk,  taught  in  the 
Sabbath-school,  aided  at  weekly  meetings,  labored  with  the 
impenitent,  visited  the  sick,  invited  friends  and  neighbors 
to  the  services,  welcomed  new-comers,  cherished  intimate 
and  often  tender  relations  with  pastor  and  members,  and 
felt  a  constant  responsibility  for  both  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  interests  of  the  particular  church  with  which  he 
was  at  the  time  connected.  But  he  "  felt  also  the  care  of  all 
the  churches."  In  the  city  of  New  York  he  took  an  active 
part,  from  early  manhood,  in  the  inauguration  of  various 
church  enterprises.  He  loved  to  see  churches  established 
in  needy  districts,  and  he  made  it  his  duty  to  attach  him- 
self to  feebler  congregations,  where  the  presence  and  ef- 
forts of  each  member  have  a  distinct  value.  He  deplored 
the  custom  or  necessity  of  concentrating  in  a  few  strong 


CHURCH   RELATIONS.  199 

central  churches  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  sup- 
porters of  a  religious  body ;  and  although  a  Presbyterian, 
with  clear  convictions  of  what  he  believed  to  be  the  advan- 
tages of  his  own  ecclesiastical  system,  he  was  a  warm  advo- 
cate of  union  efforts  wherever  the  majority  of  attendants 
or  residents  were  not  of  one  denomination,  or  wherever,  in 
sparsely  populated  neighborhoods  or  places,  there  was  not 
sufficient  strength  to  maintain  adequately  more  than  one 
organization. 

When  Mr.  Dodge's  family  returned  to  the  city  from 
Connecticut  in  1825  they  first  attended  the  Laight  Street 
Church,  then  under  the  charge  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel H.  Cox,  D.D.  Four  years  later  Mr.  Dodge  assisted  in 
organizing  a  new  enterprise,  which  took  the  name  of  the 
Union  Presbyterian  Church,  and  "  was  designed,"  in  the 
words  of  one  of  the  founders,  "  to  sustain  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  to  the  poor,  and  endeavor  to  promote  re- 
vivals of  religion."  The  Prince  Street  Church  was  pur- 
chased by  this  congregation;  and  here,  as  we  shall  see, 
Mr.  Finney,  the  evangelist,  began  his  labors  in  New  York. 
Mr.  Dodge's  father  and  father-in-law  were  both  prominent 
in  this  movement,  and  he  himself  acted  for  some  time 
as  secretary.  A  number  of  minutes  and  annual  reports 
appear  in  his  handwriting.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Financial  Committee,  and  his  official  statements  show  how 
pew-rents  and  contributions  were  under  the  control  of  this 
committee,  and  were  apportioned  by  them  for  the  minis- 
ter's salary  and  different  religious  societies.  The  Rev. 
Herman  Norton  was  the  first  regular  pastor. 

Mr.  B.  B.  Atterbury,  a  brother-in-law,  writes  of  the  next 
change : — 

"  Mr.  Dodge  became  interested  in  the  Second  Avenue  Church, 
near  Second  Street,  about  1834,  and  soon  after  was  made  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday-school ;  and  a  most  efficient  and  devoted 
superintendent  he  made,  beloved  by  all  the  teachers  and  scholars. 
I  had  joined  the  school  while  Dr.  Murray  was  pastor.  The  church 


200  CHURCH   RELATIONS. 

was  very  far  out  of  the  city  ;  the  population  was  small.  We  wor- 
shipped in  the  lecture-room,  as  the  church  was  not  finished. 
Mr.  Dodge  lived  in  Fifth  Street,  between  the  Second  and  Third 
Avenues ;  and  well  do  I  remember  the  Sunday-school  teachers' 
meetings  held  weekly  at  his  house,  and,  in  the  great  revival  of 
1836  and  1837,  the  early  morning  prayer-meetings  held  at  six  A.M. 
during  that  winter.  I  was  not  then  a  member  of  the  church  ;  but 
his  warm  interest  in  me,  and  his  example  and  prayers,  helped  me 
in  my  decision  to  unite  with  the  church.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Murray 
left  about  the  time  Mr.  Dodge  united  with  us.  Dr.  Charles  L. 
Porter  became  our  pastor,  and  in  Mr.  Dodge  found  an  earnest 
and  willing  co-laborer.  A  feeling  of  insecurity  was  felt  in  the  ceil- 
ing of  the  church,  and  this  kept  many  from  joining  in  the  enter- 
prise. Notwithstanding,  the  church  was  blessed,  and  many  were 
added  to  it,  especially  during  the  spring  of  1837.  How  happy 
Mr.  Dodge  was  during  these  seasons  of  interest !  His  heart  was 
warmly  engaged,  and  his  earnest  prayers  for  the  conversion  of  the 
teachers  and  scholars  in  the  school  were  of  great  good.  Many 
were  converted,  and  united  with  the  church,  and  many  of  these 
have  become  prominent  in  church  enterprises.  The  fear  that  the 
roof  of  the  church  would  fall  in,  although  alterations  had  been 
made  to  secure  its  safety,  still  pervaded  the  people,  and  Mr.  Dodge 
urged  a  change,  and  suggested  the  building  of  the  Sixth  Street 
Church." 

In  1842  this  new  effort,  somewhat  farther  up  town,  was 
begun.  The  terms  of  agreement  are  here  also  in  his  hand- 
writing, and  were  evidently  drawn  up  by  himself.  The 
document  reads :  — 

"  The  subscribers,  being  desirous  of  sustaining  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  First  and  Second  Avenues, 
and  between  Fourth  and  Tenth  Streets,  and  in  order  to  conform 
to  the  spirit  of  the  times  by  furnishing  comfortable  accommoda- 
tions and  good  preaching  at  a  moderate  expense,  and  avoid  the 
embarrassment  resulting  from  being  in  debt,  have  secured  two  lots 
in  Sixth  Street,  near  Second  Avenue,  at  a  reasonable  ground-rent, 
on  which  they  desire  to  erect  a  substantial  plain  building,  40  X  60 
feet,  to  cost  $2,500.  In  order  to  raise  this  sum,  it  is  proposed  to 
create  a  stock  of  100  shares,  at  $25  each." 


CHURCH   RELATIONS.  2OI 

A  portion  of  the  basement  was  to  be  rented  for  school 
purposes ;  and  the  entire  expenses,  including  the  minis- 
ter's salary,  were  to  be  less  than  $1,400  per  annum.  This 
scheme  was  carried  out,  and  the  church  built,  the  congre- 
gation meanwhile  occupying  a  hall  in  Third  Avenue.  The 
Rev.  Horace  Eaton  was  called  to  be  pastor,  and  labored 
here  seven  years,  strong  in  the  affection  of  an  increasing 
membership.  He  then  removed  to  Palmyra,  where  he 
became  one  of  the  most  influential  ministers  of  Central 
New  York. 

Mr.  Dodge  cherished  to  the  day  of  his  death  a  warm 
regard  for  Dr.  Eaton.  He  corresponded  with  him  from 
time  to  time,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  visited  him 
to  aid  in  religious  work.  They  died  within  the  same  year. 
In  a  letter  written  by  Dr.  Eaton  after  the  death  of  his  friend 
there  are  some  interesting  reminiscences  of  Mr.  Dodge  in 
his  relation  to  this  church  in  Sixth  Street :  — 

"  Some  six  months  before  I  was  to  leave  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  —  in  the  winter  of  1842  —  Mr.  John  McChain,  a  grave  and 
elderly  gentleman,  called  at  my  room  and  invited  me  to  speak  the 
next  Sabbath  morning  to  a  few  people  who  worshipped  in  Tempe- 
rance Hall,  near  Fourth  Street,  in  the  Bowery.  '  The  audience 
will  be  small,'  he  said,  '  and  the  opportunity  a  good  one  for  a 
young  man  to  improve  his  gifts  and  graces  for  more  public  duties.' 
I  felt  the  need  of  the  improvement,  and  accepted  the  invitation. 
I  had  two  or  three  sermons  written  with  some  care,  but  they 
seemed  unfit  for  so  informal  an  occasion ;  and  seizing  upon  the 
text,  so  attractive  to  many  an  ardent  and  inexperienced  candidate, 
'  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross  ! '  I  wrote  what  I 
could,  and  depended  upon  the  spur  of  the  occasion  to  eke  out  the 
remainder. 

"  The  Sabbath  morning  was  sleety,  the  way  to  Temperance 
Hall  forbidding.  As  I  ascended  the  platform  and  looked  around 
upon  the  audience,  I  saw  I  was  in  a  trap.  Here  and  there  I  ob- 
served a  learned  professor  or  teacher  I  had  seen  before.  The  long 
seats  of  the  entire  hall  were  filled  with  men  of  culture  and  standing, 
assembled  with  their  families  to  hear  the  word  of  God.  The  sing- 


202  CHURCH  RELATIONS. 

ing  was  led  by  Dr.  J.  J.  Owen,  the  commentator.  And  this,  thought 
I,  is  Temperance  Hall !  this  '  the  few  people '  !  this  '  the  place  for 
a  young  man  to  improve  his  gifts ' !  As  I  came  to  my  first  sermon 
the  light  was  bad,  the  writing  worse.  I  blundered,  boggled.  What 
could  I  do  ?  I  threw  away  my  paper,  struck  at  a  few  points,  and 
said  '  Amen  ! ' 

"  To  me  the  service  was  a  memorable  one.  Could  I  have 
found  some  subterranean  passage  I  should  have  gone  quickly  out 
of  sight  of  my  audience,  never  to  meet  them  more.  But  in  the 
third  seat,  sitting  with  his  wife  and  children,  there  was  a  man  of 
expressive  and  beautiful  countenance,  that  beamed  with  sympathy 
for  my  confusion.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  came  up  to  me 
and  gave  me  his  hand.  It  was  my  first  introduction  to  William  E. 
Dodge.  Without  cutting  the  seam  of  truth,  he  spoke  kindly, 
praised  the  text,  referred  to  this  and  that  point  fitted  to  do  good. 
After  Sabbath-school  he  invited  me  to  dinner.  The  wise  and 
thoughtful  words  of  Mrs.  Dodge,  the  smiles  of  the  children,  charmed 
away  the  fever  of  my  chagrin,  and  let  me  down  into  something  of 
hopefulness  and  rest. 

"  My  first  sermon  in  Temperance  Hall,  and  my  first  meet- 
ing with  William  E.  Dodge,  will  not  be  forgotten  in  this  world 
or  the  next.  If  his  purse  helped  hundreds  of  young  men  into 
the  ministry,  his  warm,  quick,  generous  nature  apprehended 
their  trials,  excused  their  mistakes,  and  cheered  them  on  their 
way.  How  many  servants  of  Christ,  strengthened  and  gladdened 
by  him  on  earth,  met  and  welcomed  him  as  he  entered  the  gates 
of  life  ! 

"  When  I  first  saw  Mr.  Dodge  he  was  some  thirty-five  years  old, 
yet  as  lithe  and  blithe  as  a  youth  of  twenty-one.  Indeed,  he  ever 
retained  the  same  bright  expression ;  his  face  always  shone  be- 
cause his  heart  always  glowed.  Goodness  never  grows  old.  A 
Christlike  sensibility  and  transparency  were  the  central  elements 
of  his  character,  which  commended  him  to  every  man's  con- 
science. Though  clear  and  open-eyed  to  discover  and  escape 
the  duplicity  and  sinuosities  of  the  serpent,  yet  he  could  say, 
with  the  great  apostle,  '  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimony  of 
our  conscience,  that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not  with 
fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  had  our  con- 
versation in  the  world.' 


CHURCH   RELATIONS.  203 

"  He  was  alive  to  whatever  touched  the  spiritual  interests  of 
men.  Before  his  increasing  wealth  and  public  duties  placed  him 
in  the  seat  of  princes,  Mr.  Dodge  reaped  great  harvests  among 
the  lowly.  He  loved  children,  and  they  knew  it,  and  returned 
the  affection.  As  the  superintendent,  his  presence  was  gladness 
to  our  Sabbath-school.  After  the  weary  hours  of  business  he 
might  have  been  seen  among  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  wayward. 
The  rich  fruit  of  this  labor  often  surprised  him.  In  passing 
through  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  like  his  Master  he  could 
not  be  hid.  Some  Christian  tradesman,  teacher,  or  preacher  would 
hail  him,  and  gratefully  acknowledge  that  the  seed  he  had  sown  in 
their  youthful  minds  had  ripened  into  a  harvest  of  manhood  and 
piety.  But  in  nothing  was  he  so  much  at  home  as  in  revival 
work. 

"  It  was  not  strange  that  a  band  of  laborers,  such  as  met  in  Tem- 
perance Hall,  should  be  visited  with  the  refreshings  of  the  Spirit. 
Men  and  women  were  there  converted,  who  stood  like  pillars  in  the 
house  of  God.  A  few  of  them  remain  unto  this  present,  but  are 
like  the  scattered  olive-berries  in  the  topmost  bough  after  harvest. 
This  revival  inspired  a  courage  that  led  to  the  erection  of  a  small 
but  comely  sanctuary,  where  for  seven  years  we  worshipped  as  the 
Sixth  Street  Presbyterian  Church.  I  well  remember  the  decisive 
hour  when  Mr.  Dodge  headed  the  subscription,  and  with  true  busi- 
ness tact  brought  others  to  the  point  which  secured  sums  that 
warranted  the  enterprise.  The  hive  was  small,  but  composed  of 
working-bees.  A  number  of  precious  ingatherings  marked  the 
seven  years.  Mr.  Dodge  assured  me  that  in  the  communion  and 
worship  of  that  little  church  he  partook  of  some  of  the  richest 
clusters  he  was  ever  permitted  to  pluck.  Here  his  younger  chil- 
dren were  baptized ;  here  his  elder  sons  came  out  and  subscribed 
with  their  own  hands  to  be  the  Lord's. 

"Whether  Mr.  Dodge  attracted  the  ministers,  or  the  ministers 
Mr.  Dodge,  I  will  not  decide.  This  is,  however,  true,  —  that  the 
families  of  seven  distinguished  clergymen  cast  in  their  lot  with  the 
Sixth  Street  Church.  Our  meetings  were  frequently  enriched  by 
the  presence  and  words  of  Drs.  Armstrong,  White,  Baird,  Spauld- 
ing,  Sawtell,  Owen,  bringing  in  sheaves  from  their  different  fields 
of  Christian  work ;  and  led  by  the  munificence  of  Mr.  Dodge,  the 
various  benevolent  causes  were  generously  supported.  I  can  but 


204  CHURCH   RELATIONS. 

think  the  part  he  acted  in  this  narrow  field  was  not  a  little  prepara- 
tory for  positions  of  world-wide  influence.  '  He  that  was  faithful 
in  that  which  was  least,  was  faithful  also  in  much.'  He  that  de- 
fended the  few  sheep  in  the  wilderness  from  the  paw  of  the  lion 
and  the  bear,  was  strengthened  to  meet  Goliath  in  the  valley  of 
Elah,  and  to  be  the  leader  of  God's  people  Israel.  There  were 
crises  with  the  little  flock  when  God  called  for  some  Moses  to 
stand  before  him  in  the  breach.  At  such  times  Mr.  Dodge  was 
the  man  to  withstand  the  breaking  in  of  error,  intemperance,  Sab- 
bath-breaking, the  worship  of  the  golden  calf.  In  this  early  dis- 
cipline his  faith  gained  roots  for  severe  trials  on  the  high  places  of 
the  field.  In  Congress,  in  railroad  corporations,  in  temperance 
conventions,  in  missionary  meetings,  when  God  sought  for  a  man 
among  them  that  should  make  up  the  hedge,  Mr.  Dodge  was  not 
wanting  there.  Never  have  I  known  such  strokes  of  individual 
power  as  when,  trusting  to  the  Voice  that  said  to  the  children  of 
Israel,  '  Go  forward,'  he  struck  for  an  advanced  step  in  some  cause 
of  reform,  always  baring  his  own  breast  to  the  sharpest  arrows  of 
the  enemy.  Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of  Ezekiel's  '  gap-men ; '  God 
made  him,  stood  by  him,  crowned  him. 

"  As  pastor  of  a  country  parish,  I  should  be  ungrateful  not  to 
mention  personal  favors.  Did  the  eye  of  Mr.  Dodge  light  upon  a 
book  that  would  help  me,  he  wrote  my  name  in  it  and  sent  it.  Did 
my  health  demand  rest,  he  provided  means  for  travel  and  recovery. 
If  worn  down  with  revival  work,  he  sent  me  reapers  by  whom  large 
ingatherings  were  secured  to  the  garner  of  God.  By  more  than 
one  visit,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Dodge,  he  has  strengthened  my 
hands,  and  by  his  presence  and  eloquent  words  in  public  given 
new  impetus  to  every  good  cause. 

"  In  reviewing  my  early  acquaintance  with  him,  I  seem  to  have 
come  so  near  his  Master  that,  like  the  disciples  in  the  walk  to 
Emmaus,  '  my  heart  burns  within  me.' " 

The  members  of  the  Sixth  Street  Church  and  of  the  Riv- 
ington  Street  Presbyterian  (Brainard)  Church  united,  in 
1851,  in  organizing,  with  others,  the  Fourteenth  Street  Pres- 
byterian Church,  situated  at  the  corner  of  Second  Avenue. 
Mr.  Dodge  and  his  father  were  here  again  associated  as 
elders  in  the  same  session.  The  Rev.  Asa  D.  Smith,  D.D., 


CHURCH   RELATIONS.  2O5 

afterwards  president  of  Dartmouth  College,  was  made 
pastor,  coming  from  the  Rivington  Street  branch.  Here 
Mr.  Dodge  had  as  fellow-members  and  elders  several 
friends,  with  whom  he  long  co-operated  in  religious, 
benevolent,  or  public  efforts.  Among  these  associates 
were  especially  Mr.  William  A.  Booth,  the  late  David 
Hoadley,  and  Christopher  R.  Robert.  The  ten  years 
spent  in  this  church  witnessed  many,  and  in  two  or  three 
instances  powerful,  revivals.  Dr.  Smith  during  such  sea- 
sons of  special  interest  was  in  the  habit  of  making  out 
lists  of  persons  in  the  congregation  who  he  thought  might 
be  favorably  approached  on  religious  subjects.  These  lists 
he  placed  in  the  hands  of  members  of  the  session  or 
church  most  capable  of  dealing  with  each  case.  Mr. 
Dodge  was  repeatedly  asked  to  engage  in  this  work,  and 
he  did  it  with  singular  fidelity  and  tact,  often  with  marked 
success.  The  memories  of  the  years  spent  in  this  church 
were  most  precious  to  himv  and  he  was  heard  to  say  more 
than  once :  "  The  place  where  I  have  enjoyed  myself  more 
than  almost  any  other  on  earth  is  the  lecture-room  of  the 
old  Fourteenth  Street  Church." 

Mr.  Dodge  retained  his  connection  with  this  church  for 
some  years  after  removing  his  residence  from  Eighteenth 
Street  to  Murray  Hill,  although  the  distance  was  greatly 
increased.  He  afterwards  united  with  the  Madison  Square 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  enjoyed  the  ministry  of  his  friend 
the  Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  until  1864,  when  he  took 
part  in  the  movement  to  establish  the  Church  of  the  Cove- 
nant. The  site  selected  for  the  new  edifice  was  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Thirty-fifth  Street  and  Park  Avenue.  In  the  erection 
of  this  church  and  of  the  adjoining  parsonage,  as  well  as 
of  the  mission-chapel  on  East  Forty-second  Street,  Mr. 
Dodge  was  one  of  the  largest  contributors.  The  Rev. 
George  L.  Prentiss,  D.D.,  became  the  first  pastor,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Marvin  R.  Vincent,  D.D.,  under 
whose  ministry  Mr.  Dodge  remained  until  his  death. 


206  CHURCH   RELATIONS. 

The  feebler  Presbyterian  churches  of  the  city  rarely  if 
ever  failed  to  receive  aid  from  Mr.  Dodge,  —  two  or  three 
were  assisted  regularly.  He  often  contributed  also  to  the 
erection  or  support  of  the  poorer  churches  of  other  de- 
nominations. But  this  interest  in  the  building  of  churches 
extended  far  beyond  his  own  city.  Applications  were  con- 
tinually made  to  him  from  almost  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory ;  and  not  merely  from  places  where  he  had  business 
connections,  or  where  any  of  the  students  he  had  helped 
to  educate  were  settled,  or  where  he  was  himself  known 
personally,  but  frequently  from  entire  strangers,  —  usually 
ministers,  who  could  plead  only  their  wants  and  the  name 
of  their  Master.  He  read  such  appeals  with  care,  and 
endeavored  to  gain  a  correct  impression  of  the  case, 
sometimes  making  inquiries  from  other  sources.  If  rea- 
sonably convinced  of  the  worthiness  of  the  request,  he 
would  send  such  an  amount  as  he  thought  the  circumstan- 
ces warranted ;  occasionally  giving  more  than  was  asked 
for  or  expected,  —  more  frequently  subscribing  on  condi- 
tion that  the  people  should  themselves  raise  a  given  sum, 
or  obtain  it  from  other  friends.  If  he  had  doubts  of  the 
exigency  of  the  cause,  he  would  perhaps  agree  to  give  the 
last  hundred  dollars,  when  the  remainder  had  been  paid 
in.  He  held  that  in  church  affairs,  as  well  as  in  others,  it 
was  wise  policy  "  to  help  men  help  themselves."  He  had 
an  official  connection  at  one  period  with  the  Church  Erec- 
tion Fund  of  his  own  denomination ;  but  he  rejoiced  to  see 
churches  of  any  evangelical  body  going  up  along  the  lines 
of  railway,  and  pressing  on  with  the  tide  of  settlement  into 
every  part  of  the  West.  A  house  of  worship  in  any  com- 
munity gave  promise  of  permanent  religious  influences; 
but  he  deprecated  the  multiplication  of  churches  where  a 
small  population  existed,  and  he  emphatically  urged  a 
well-considered  harmony  of  action  among  the  various 
evangelical  sects  that  would  prevent  unworthy  and  de- 
structive rivalry.  Proper  fraternal  comity  in  occupying 


CHURCH   RELATIONS.  2O? 

new  places  would  leave  no  point  uncared  for,  and  Chris- 
tians of  different  names  would  be  the  gainers  spiritually  by 
learning  to  hold  services  in  common  until  numbers  and 
financial  strength  should  justify  an  attempt  to  have  sepa- 
rate buildings.  In  reply  to  an  appeal  from  a  Presbyterian 
church  of  a  few  members  in  a  distant  part  of  the  country, 
he  writes :  — 

"  It  would  appear  to  me  far  better,  in  so  small  a  place,  for  the 
few  Presbyterians  to  unite  with  the  Methodists  and  use  one  church 
edifice,  —  each  for  half  a  day ;  the  two  congregations  worshipping 
together,  while  yet  preserving  their  denominational  differences. 
In  my  early  religious  life,  in  a  small  village  in  New  England,  we 
had  this  union  in  respect  to  one  house  of  worship  for  five  or  six 
years.  In  the  morning  we  had  our  own  form,  using  the  Congre- 
gational or  Presbyterian  hymn-book ;  and  in  the  afternoon  we  all 
went  to  the  Methodist  service,  carrying  our  Methodist  books.  God 
blessed  us,  and  in  the  six  years  there  were  three  revivals,  the  con- 
verts joining  the  church  of  their  own  choice.  I  can  hardly  see 
the  advantage  of  keeping  up  the  small  Presbyterian  church  of 
which  you  speak.  I  enclose,  however,  a  check  for  twenty-five 
dollars  to  aid  your  effort.  Although  for  fifty  years  a  Presbyte- 
rian elder,  I  feel  it  is  more  important  to  make  Christians  than 
Presbyterians." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  also  opposed  to  excessive  expenditures 
for  merely  church  purposes.  He  writes  to  a  friend :  — 

"  The  trouble  with  our  New  York  Presbyterian  churches  is  that 
pew-rents  are  so  high  the  poor  cannot  venture  to  come.  With 
singing  and  other  expenses  so  far  beyond  the  means  of  most  who 
do  attend,  there  is  little  left  to  give  to  the  other  objects  of  the 
church.  I  have  had  for  years  great  anxiety  on  this  subject." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

INTEREST  IN  REVIVALS.  —  LETTERS  TO  INDIVIDUALS. 

IT  can  be  said  emphatically  that  Mr.  Dodge  was  never 
so  happy  as  when  engaged  in  direct  labor  for  the 
spiritual  good  of  others.  He  watched  for  opportunities 
to  reach  individuals,  and  he  was  never  more  at  home 
than  when  taking  part  in  the  frequent  meetings  or  per- 
sonal interviews  of  a  true  revival. 

In  an  address  delivered  December,  1872,  at  the  Lay- 
Workers'  College  in  Brooklyn,  he  says :  — 

"  I  have  been  associated  in  revivals  of  religion  with  those  who, 
thirty,  forty,  fifty  years  ago,  were  marked  men  in  this  country.  Com- 
ing into  the  kingdom  at  an  early  age,  I  was  in  revivals  under  Mr. 
Nettleton.  I  saw  much  of  his  work,  and  of  that  of  many  who  fol- 
lowed him.  I  also  labored  with  Mr.  Finney.  In  my  contact  with 
these  evangelists,  I  noticed  one  thing,  —  to  be  prepared  to  work  for 
the  salvation  of  men,  you  must  be  thoroughly  convinced  that  men 
are  lost.  Whitefield,  Tennant,  the  Wesleys,  Edwards,  had  this  pre- 
vailing conviction,  and  it  gave  energy  to  all  their  efforts.  They 
believed  that  the  men  for  whom  they  were  laboring  were  on  the 
way  to  eternal  death.  Our  Saviour  believed  in  the  eternal  con- 
demnation of  the  wicked,  and  he  knew  all  about  it.  '  These,'  he 
said,  '  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,'  —  punishment  as 
everlasting  as  the  eternity  of  the  righteous.  Unless  we  get  an  idea 
of  what  it  is  to  be  lost,  we  cannot  know  what  it  is  to  be  saved. 
'  Jesus  Christ  came  to  seek  and  save  the  lost.'  God  saw  a  ruined 
race  in  the  broad  road  leading  to  everlasting  death,  and  'he  so 
loved  us  as  to  send  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  When 
our  Saviour  related  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  are 


INTEREST   IN   REVIVALS. 

we  to  suppose  he  was  trifling  with  us  ?  I  have  felt  that  I  could 
not  go  and  try  to  point  a  soul  to  Christ  until  I  was  fully  imbued 
with  the  thought  that  until  saved  in  Christ,  a  soul  was  forever  lost. 
God  has  prescribed  a  remedy  that  we  might  not  perish.  I  have 
heard  of  those  who  believe  in  the  final  restitution  of  the  wicked. 
They  claim  that  God  is  so  good,  all  the  wicked  will  be  saved.  I 
do  not  find  a  hint  of  it  as  I  read  my  Bible.  We  are  told  there  of 
'  the  worm  that  dieth  not,  and  of  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched.' 
Christ  died  not  only  to  open  the  prison-door,  but  to  open  the  pal- 
ace-gate and  give  men  everlasting  life.  Impelled  by  this  solemn 
truth,  we  shall  say  as  we  look  and  see  men  perishing,  '  Here  am  I, 
send  me.'  '  Use  me  in  whatever  way  I  can  do  most  to  save  lost 
sinners.'  A  saved  sinner  myself,  I  can  declare  that  God  desires 
not  the  death  of  the  wicked.  He  says  to  all,  '  Turn  ye ;  why  will 
ye  die?'" 

This  was  the  key-note  of  Mr.  Dodge's  theology,  the 
secret  of  his  earnestness,  and,  we  may  add,  the  chief  cause 
of  his  success  in  leading  men  to  Christ.  He  had,  indeed, 
a  singularly  tender  and  convincing  manner  of  presenting 
and  pressing  home  these  solemn  truths;  but  it  was  his 
unqualified  acceptance  of  the  cardinal  declarations  of  the 
word  of  God  that  brought  to  his  own  mind  such  un- 
wavering conviction  and  enabled  him  to  impart  it  to 
others. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  eager  to  have  these  great  foundation- 
truths  made  the  frequent  theme  of  public  preaching.  This 
was  the  characteristic  of  the  religious  movements  with 
which  he  was  early  familiar,  and  one  of  the  reasons  which 
led  him  always  to  long  for  and  enjoy  such  seasons.  Men 
were  converted  under  such  preaching,  and  generally  be- 
came intelligent,  active,  and  trustworthy  church  members. 
These  views  also  made  Mr.  Dodge  ready  to  welcome  and 
assist  evangelists  whose  success  proved  their  special  call 
to  this  work,  even  though  he  could  not  be  sure  of  the 
wisdom  of  all  their  methods.  He  was  one  of  the  small 
company  of  earnest  men  who  gave  Mr.  Finney,  the  revi- 
valist, his  first  invitation  to  labor  in  New  York.  Mr. 

14 


210  INTEREST  IN   REVIVALS. 

Dodge  refers  to  it  in  a  long  communication,  dated  Jan.  i, 
1880,  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Henry  M.  Field,  D.D.,  editor 
of  the  "New  York  Evangelist,"  giving  an  account  of  Mr. 
Dodge's  connection  with  the  establishment  of  that  paper 
in  1829:  — 

"From  1820  to  1830  there  were  remarkable  revivals  in  many 
parts  of  New  England  and  throughout  the  western  portion  of  our 
own  State.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Nettleton  had  been  visiting  Hartford, 
New  Haven,  and  many  other  places.  Powerful  awakenings  had 
followed,  with  large  additions  to  the  churches.  In  western  New 
York  the  Rev.  Charles  G.  Finney,  then  a  young  man,  who  after 
his  conversion  had  left  the  law  and  prepared  for  the  ministry, 
began  to  labor  as  an  evangelist.  Extensive  revivals  took  place 
in  Rome,  Utica,  Auburn,  and  Rochester.  Reports  of  the  methods 
adopted  were  widely  spread  and  severely  criticised  by  the  secular 
as  well  as  the  religious  press.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Beman,  who  had 
visited  Utica  to  satisfy  his  own  mind,  invited  Mr.  Finney  to  Troy, 
and  his  efforts  there  were  crowned  by  an  extraordinary  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit. 

"  My  late  father-in-law,  Mr.  Anson  G.  Phelps,  became  deeply 
impressed  with  the  feeling  that  a  great  blessing  would  follow  if  Mr. 
Finney  could  be  induced  to  come  to  New  York,  but  found  that 
his  pastor,  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring,  as  well  as  other  prominent  min- 
isters, were  doubtful  of  the  propriety  of  introducing  into  their 
pulpits  a  person  about  whom  so  much  was  said  and  such  differ- 
ence of  opinion  existed.  Still,  feeling  it  a  duty,  he  invited  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Beman  of  Troy,  Dr.  Aiken  of  Utica,  and  Dr.  Lansing  of 
Auburn,  with  Mr.  Finney,  to  come  to  the  city  for  consultation. 
This  was  in  the  fall  of  1828.  The  interviews  continued  for  several 
days  at  Mr.  Phelps's  house,  then  32  Cliff  Street.  I  shall  never  for- 
get those  days.  Such  prayers  I  never  heard  before.  These  men 
had  all  come  from  the  influence  of  the  recent  wonderful  revivals, 
and  were  all  filled  with  the  Spirit.  Each  afternoon  was  spent  as 
a  season  of  special  prayer  for  Divine  direction,  and  several  zealous 
Christians,  officers  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  city,  were 
invited  to  be  present.  The  remarks  and  prayers  of  these  ministers 
impressed  us  all.  When  it  was  decided  that  Mr.  Finney  should 
undertake  a  work  in  New  York,  Mr.  Phelps  invited  him,  with  his 


INTEREST  IN  REVIVALS.  211 

wife  and  child,  to  his  own  house.  A  suitable  place  to  open  the 
meetings  was  sought.  The  old  Vandewater  Street  Church  was  at 
the  time  unoccupied,  and  here  Mr.  Finney  entered  upon  his 
labors,  in  the  early  spring  of  1829,  with  crowded  audiences  and 
evident  effect.  In  the  beginning  of  the  summer  the  church  built 
by  the  Universalists  at  the  corner  of  Prince  and  Marion  Streets 
was  to  be  sold  under  foreclosure  of  mortgage,  and  though  very  far 
up  town,  it  was  purchased  and  fitted  up.  The  fine  large  basement 
had  never  been  completed,  and  was  used  by  a  neighboring  brewer 
to  store  his  casks.  Turned  into  a  lecture-room,  it  became  one 
of  the  most  precious  places  I  ever  enjoyed.  In  this  church  Mr. 
Finney  preached  for  about  a  year  and  a  half.  Multitudes  flocked 
to  hear  him,  and  large  numbers  were  hopefully  converted.  In 
order  to  provide  for  the  vast  throngs,  and  also  to  get  farther  down 
town,  Arthur  and  Lewis  Tappan,  David  Hale  and  others,  bought 
and  prepared  for  him  the  Chatham  Street  Tabernacle. 
"  Oh,  how  I  long  to  witness  once  more  such  days !  " 

A  short  time  after  (Feb.  II,  1880)  he  writes  to  an  old 
associate :  — 

"  I  am  ready  with  you  to  bless  God  for  his  mercy  to  you  and 
many  others,  who  from  earth  as  well  as  eternity  can  unite  in  the 
song  of  thanksgiving  that  they  were  led  to  listen  to  the  Gospel  as 
sounded  forth  by  our  dear  friend  Mr.  Finney." 

Mr.  Dodge  himself  frequently  visited  different  places  for 
the  express  purpose  of  taking  part  in  revival  efforts.  It  was 
a  matter  of  small  moment  to  him  what  particular  church  or 
sect  gained  accessions,  provided  men  were  truly  converted. 
He  looked  anxiously  for  an  intelligent  apprehension  of 
evangelical  truth  and  growing  consistency  of  life.  He  felt 
a  special  responsibility  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  all  who 
were  in  his  employ  or  connected  with  companies  in  which 
he  was  interested.  At  paints  where  he  had  mills  and  tim- 
ber lands,  one  of  his  first  cares  was  to  provide  church 
privileges.  He  aided  in  securing  the  building  and  in 
establishing  regular  services  and  a  Sabbath-school.  When 
there  himself  on  business,  he  rarely  failed  to  make  an 


212  INTEREST  IN  REVIVALS. 

address,  often  taking  the  place  of  the  preacher,  or  gather- 
ing the  people  for  a  stirring  temperance  meeting. 

Mr.  E.  B.  Campbell,  writing  of  Mr.  Dodge's  investments 
in  the  pine-lands  of  northern  Pennsylvania,  says :  — 

"  During  1838  Mr.  Dodge  erected  the  little  church,  still  in  use, 
on  the  knoll  near  the  junction  of  Marsh  and  Pine  Creeks,  remark- 
ing at  the  time  that  he  would  not  be  interested  in  any  operations 
where  his  workmen  did  not  enjoy  the  privilege  of  having  a  house 
of  worship.  This  was  the  first  built  in  Tioga  County,  Pa.  Mr. 
Dodge  sent  out  a  minister,  who  remained  for  two  years,  and  was 
followed  by  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Calkins,  who  also  preached  at  Wellsboro', 
then  a  mission-station.  From  that  time  until  his  death  Mr.  Dodge 
contributed  yearly  to  this  field.  In  fact,  no  church  has  been  built 
in  that  entire  section  without  receiving  help  from  him ;  and  all 
along  down  Pine  Creek,  Jersey  Shore,  and  Williamsport,  all  have 
on  their  records  his  name  as  a  contributor.  Were  I  to  speak  of 
the  great  influence  he  exercised  in  this  section,  and  the  results  of 
his  Christian  example  and  teaching,  time  would  fail  me.  Wherever 
he  went  he  did  good,  always  seeming  to  care  more  for  the  welfare 
of  others  than  his  own." 

The  Rev.  J.  F.  Calkins,  first  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Wellsboro',  Pa.,  wrote  to  his  former  charge  on  the  death 
of  his  friend :  — 

"  I  probably  never  should  have  seen  Wellsboro'  but  for  Mr. 
Dodge.  He  sent  me  there  just  graduating  from  the  Seminary.  I 
probably  should  not  have  stayed  there  more  than  two  years,  but  for 
his  constant  benefactions  to  me  for  the  sake  of  the  church.  His 
gifts  to  the  church,  beyond  the  support  of  the  minister,  began  with 
the  building  of  the  parsonage.  Then  he  gave  one  quarter  of  the 
cost  of  the  church  building.  Just  after  the  frame  was  ready,  the 
kiln  in  which  we  had  all  the  timber  for  the  inside  work  took  fire 
and  burned  up.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Dodge.  The  return  mail  from 
Cliff  Street  brought  word,  '  Put  me  down  for  ten  thousand  feet  of 
lumber  wherever  you  can  get  it.'  In  1859  the  eight-hundred- 
pound  bell,  which  has  ever  since  called  the  people  to  the  house  of 
God,  was  sent  by  him  without  solicitation.  Afterwards,  when  re- 
pairs and  enlargement  were  necessary,  he  paid  one  tenth  of  the 


INTEREST  IN   REVIVALS.  213 

whole  sum.  But  he  not  only  gave  his  money,  but  himself  to  the 
Lord  in  our  behalf.  When  his  visits  were  much  more  frequent  than 
of  late  years,  he  did  not  spare  himself  from  always  talking  to  our 
church  and  people  with  great  acceptance,  and  going  in  my  wagon 
with  me  to  Pine  Creek  and  the  neighboring  school-houses  to  preach 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  witnesses  are  all  around  you  to  tell  how 
he  left  his  large  business  in  New  York  —  after  sending  to  us  one 
minister  after  another  to  help  in  the  revival  of  1856  and  1857 — to 
come  himself  and  go  with  me  from  house  to  house,  to  stores,  offices, 
and  families  to  invite  men  to  the  mercy-seat.  The  last  letter  I 
received  from  him  was  in  part  to  beseech  me  to  labor  and  pray  for 
an  old-fashioned  revival  of  religion ;  and  with  it  he  sent  two  books 
on  the  subject." 

Mr.  Dodge  wrote  to  his  wife  from  this  place,  March  13, 
1856:  — 

"  I  was  urged  to  return  at  once  to  the  city  on  very  important 
business ;  but  I  could  not,  or  did  not  dare  to  leave.  God's  power 
has  been  so  wonderful  for  the  past  two  days,  and  I  have  so  many 
on  my  hands  and  heart,  apparently  just  on  the  turning-point  of 
their  destiny,  that  I  cannot  go.  Last  night  some  four  or  five  of 
the  most  prominent  men  of  the  place,  who  the  Sabbath  before 
were  among  the  anxious,  and  for  whom  we  had  been  praying  and 
laboring,  arose  in  the  meeting  to  tell  what  God  had  done  for  them, 
and  to  urge  others  to  come  to  Christ." 

He  adds,  in  reference  to  a  friend  in  whom  Mrs.  Dodge 
was  interested  in  the  city :  — 

"  Urge  her  right  up  to  the  point  of  submission  and  giving  up 
all  for  Christ,  —  no  half-way,  —  if  she  would  be  happy." 

More  than  fifty  united  with  the  church  at  Wellsboro'  as 
the  result  of  this  awakening. 

Referring  afterwards  to  these  occasions,  Mr.  Dodge 
wrote,  Dec.  20,  1878,  to  Mr.  Calkins:  — 

"  Your  good  letter  has  brought  back  recollections  of  the  many, 
many  interesting  times  we  have  enjoyed  together  when  I  was 
called  so  often  to  Wellsboro'.  What  a  blessed  revival !  Mr. 
's  visit  to  your  house  and  his  first  prayer  in  the  evening  meet- 


214  INTEREST  IN   REVIVALS. 

ing !  The  Rev.  Dr.  Asa  D.  Smith's  visit  and  illness,  and  your 
preaching  in  his  place,  showing  that  he  who  planted  should  also  do 
the  reaping  !  What  a  blessed  day  that  was  !  We  shall  never  fully 
understand  it  all  until  we  realize  it  '  anew  in  our  Father's  king- 
dom.' Let  us  be  thankful  for  all  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  has 
led  us,  and  keep  on  hard  at  work  while  he  gives  us  strength.  I 
do  not  expect  this  ever  to  be  '  the  place  of  my  rest,'  even  if  I  do 
not  continue  in  mercantile  business.  I  was  never  so  fully  pressed 
in  my  life." 

During  the  year  of  this  revival  at  Wellsboro'  (1856) 
Mr.  Dodge  made  a  similar  visit  to  Jersey  Shore,  Pa.,  —  a 
place  near  one  of  the  larger  lumber-mills  of  the  Company 
in  which  he  was  interested.  He  assisted  for  some  time  in 
the  protracted  meetings,  and  became  so  deeply  engaged, 
and  so  impressed  with  a  consciousness  of  the  presence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  that  friends  who  came  with  him  to  aid  in 
the  work  noticed  that  for  several  days  he  refused  to  open 
and  read  business  communications  of  any  kind.  Here 
also  a  large  number  of  conversions  took  place,  and  more 
than  fifty  united  at  one  time  with  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
To  other  places  likewise  where  he  had  business  connec- 
tions Mr.  Dodge  either  went  personally  or  would  send 
ministers  or  evangelists  to  assist  the  pastors  in  special 
meetings,  and  he  watched  eagerly  for  favorable  reports. 
Writing  to  a  ministerial  friend  (March,  1864),  he  says: 

"  I  have  heard  with  deep  interest  that  God  has  been  among 
you  with  his  Holy  Spirit  in  the  conversion  of  many  souls.  I  felt 
as  if  I  must  come  up  and  spend  a  day  or  two  with  you,  but  have 
not  been  at  all  well,  and  have  had  to  avoid  all  excitement.  I  have 
been  often  to  different  places  to  enjoy  with  God's  people  such 
precious  seasons.  Nothing  this  side  of  heaven  can  compare  with 
them." 

His  warm  personal  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler,  wrote  of 
him  on  the  day  of  his  death :  — 

"  While  the  whole  Church  of  God  in  this  and  other  lands  is 
mourning  the  departure  of  this  nobleman  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 


INTEREST  IN   REVIVALS.  21$ 

let  me  narrate  an  incident  that  illustrates  the  depth  of  his  personal 
consecration  to  his  Master.  It  was  not  only  by  princely  benefac- 
tions, and  by  public  services  on  platforms  and  in  board  meetings, 
that  my  friend  served  Christ;  he  was  a  personal  worker  for  souls. 
One  morning  I  had  occasion  to  call  on  him  at  his  counting-room 
in  business  hours  to  present  some  work  of  philanthropy.  '  See 
here,'  said  he,  in  his  eager,  enthusiastic  way,  — '  see  what  letters  I 
have  just  got  from  the  minister  up  in  that  coal  and  iron  settlement 
in  northern  Pennsylvania.  I  have  been  up  there  for  several  days, 
and  a  blessed  revival  is  going  on  among  the  iron-miners  and  coal- 
diggers.  I  went  into  the  inquiry-meetings,  and  got  greatly  inter- 
ested in  some  of  those  rough,  hard-working  fellows  ;  and  now  the 
minister  writes  me  that  some  of  those  men  I  talked  with  have 
found  Christ.  Is  n't  it  glorious  ! '  Then  he  went  on  and  gave  me 
an  account  of  one  and  another  of  the  various  humble  individuals 
whose  cases  he  had  come  to  know  as  well  as  if  they  had  been  the 
friends  of  a  lifetime.  There  was  a  frequent  rap  at  the  counting- 
room  door  of  people  who  had  come  to  see  Mr.  Dodge  on  matters 
of  commercial  business.  '  No  matter,'  said  he  ;  '  let  them  pound 
away  !  You  sit  still  and  hear  these  letters.  I  care  more  about  the 
souls  of  those  miners  than  about  any  of  those  people  out  there  who 
have  come  to  talk  about  money.' 

"  I  have  been  with  Mr.  Dodge  on  a  great  many  public  occa- 
sions, and  seen  his  interior  life  too  under  many  circumstances ;  but 
no  memory  of  him  will  be  sweeter  than  of  that  morning  when  his 
big  benevolent  heart  was  so  stirred  with  a  holy  enthusiasm  over 
those  humble  miners  whom  he  had  helped  towards  the  cross  of 
Jesus.  The  same  Harlan-Page-like  spirit  he  manifested  during  the 
great  revival  of  1858.  Every  day  he  threw  himself  into  personal 
efforts  for  the  conversion  of  souls ;  and  the  break  in  his  health 
which  necessitated  a  trip  to  Europe  was  largely  caused  by  the  extra 
strain  put  on  him  by  daily  meetings  and  other  religious  activities. 
He  leaves  a  mighty  gap  which  no  one  can  fill.  He  has  gone  to  a 
heaven  which  has  in  store  for  him  a  crown  of  many  stars.  Mourn 
we  well  may  for  ourselves,  but  let  none  mourn  for  him  in  his 
glory." 

In  all  his  efforts  he  was  exceedingly  jealous  of  the  honor 
of  his  Master.  He  loved  to  see  "  the  Name  that  is  above 


2l6  INTEREST   IN   REVIVALS. 

every  name"  duly  and  everywhere  exalted.  He  would 
sometimes  say  of  a  sermon  which  may  have  displayed 
learning  and  eloquence,  "  There  was  no  Christ  in  it." 
When  engaged  in  personal  appeals,  he  endeavored  to  lead 
men  directly  to  a  divine  and  present  Saviour,  dwelling 
upon  the  need  of  the  soul,  and  then  upon  the  fulness  of 
Christ  to  meet  every  want. 

During  his  long  journey  through  the  Indian  Territory  as 
a  Government  commissioner,  he  aided  in  having  religious 
services  for  the  escort  of  soldiers ;  and  on  one  of  these 
occasions  he  read  a  little  tract  entitled,  "  Make  it  so  plain 
that  I  can  get  hold  of  it."  This  was  the  earnest  request  of 
a  wounded  soldier,  whose  father  had  reached  his  bedside 
and  was  trying  to  show  him  the  way  of  salvation.  He 
finally  succeeds,  by  reminding  the  son  of  an  incident  in  his 
childhood  when  he  repented  of  some  gross  disobedience, 
and  was  freely  forgiven  and  received  back  again  to  his 
father's  love.  Mr.  Dodge  used  this  narrative  to  enforce 
his  own  remarks  to  the  soldiers  before  him ;  but  it  was  an 
illustration  of  his  usual  directness  and  simplicity  in  present- 
ing religious  truth.  He  aimed  to  make  it  so  plain  that  all 
could  lay  hold  of  it. 

When  Mr.  Moody  and  his  associate,  Mr.  Sankey,  held 
the  great  evangelistic  meetings  at  the  New  York  Hippo- 
drome in  1876,  no  one  gave  them  more  eager  and  constant 
support.  Mr.  Dodge  had  been  among  the  first  to  urge 
their  coming,  and  not  only  contributed  freely  to  the  large 
expenses  necessary,  but  he  served  on  various  committees, 
and  was  daily  present  at  some  or  all  of  the  services.  Al- 
most every  evening  saw  him  on  the  platform,  near  the 
speaker,  his  face  radiant  with  interest,  and  tears  often  flow- 
ing down  his  cheeks.  He  was  always  ready  to  take  any 
part  in  the  exercises,  and  at  the  after-meetings  or  in  the 
inquiry-rooms  he  was  untiring  in  directing  souls  to  the  way 
of  salvation.  Friends  who,  he  thought,  might  be  benefited 
spiritually  by  attending  the  meetings  were  personally  in- 


LETTERS   TO   INDIVIDUALS.  2 17 

vited;  and  when  an  impression  seemed  to  be  made,  he 
endeavored  by  subsequent  visits  to  have  it  become  perma- 
nent. He  did  not  soon  recover  from  this  continuous  and 
absorbing  devotion;  but  these  days  and  weeks  were  to 
him  full  of  holy  joy,  and  he  always  referred  to  them  with 
peculiar  gratitude  and  delight. 

One  method  of  Christian  usefulness  was  much  practised 
by  Mr.  Dodge.  He  frequently  wrote  letters  to  friends, 
urging  most  affectionately  the  need  of  personal  religion. 
These  were  generally  written  at  the  house,  and  were  rarely 
copied.  The  few  of  which  a  record  has  been  found  refer  in 
most  instances  so  definitely  to  the  individual  circumstances 
of  those  to  whom  they  were  addressed  that  the  contents 
must  be  held  as  confidential.  Portions  of  one  or  two  may 
perhaps  be  allowed,  to  exhibit  the  tenderness  and  yet 
faithfulness  he  always  brought  to  a  task  so  delicate  and 
difficult 

During  the  revival  of  1858  he  wrote  to  a  friend  with 
whom  he  had  long  been  associated  in  various  enterprises, 
and  for  whom  he  again  and  again  expressed  peculiar 
solicitude  :  — 

"  For  many  years  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  meeting  you  in 
business  circles,  and  have  repeatedly  admired  your  prompt  action 
and  great  executive  talents.  I  have  always  felt  a  deep  interest  in 
your  prosperity ;  at  the  same  time  I  have  often  been  anxious  lest 
you  should  be  satisfied  with  riches,  which  can  at  best  last  but  a  few 
years.  The  providence  of  God  has  of  late  in  a  remarkable  manner 
visited  our  city  and  land.  First,  by  the  panic,  which  led  all  to  see 
how  vain  were  human  calculations.  But  now  he  has  come  by  his 
Spirit,  touching  the  heart  and  leading  hundreds  of  business  men  to 
understand  the  importance  of  receiving  a  better  portion  than  this 
world  can  give.  Never  has  there  been  such  a  time,  since  we  have 
been  on  the  stage,  when,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  it  was 
so  easy  to  find  '  the  pearl  of  great  price.'  Many  whom  you  know 
and  respect  are  turning  their  thoughts  to  eternal  things.  You,  my 
dear  sir,  at  times  think  of  the  need  of  a  preparation  for  death,  and 


2l8  LETTERS   TO  INDIVIDUALS. 

you  hope  in  some  way  to  have  such  preparation  before  you  die ; 
but  are  you  acting  in  this  all-important  matter  with  that  wisdom 
and  promptness  which  have  always  governed  your  business  life? 
Oh,  my  dear  friend,  that  you  could  but  open  your  eyes  and  see  your 
true  position,  and  the  danger  that,  with  all  this  world  can  give,  you 
may  go  unprepared  to  the  bar  of  God  !  Why  will  you  not  take 
time  to  look  at  this  matter  calmly,  and  ask  yourself,  '  What  shall  it 
profit  me  if  I  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  my  own  soul? '  I  ven- 
ture to  enclose  a  little  paper,  which  I  trust  you  will  read  carefully, 
and  put  to  yourself  the  inquiry,  '  Am  I  not  the  man  ? '  I  am  con- 
fident you  will  appreciate  the  motive  which  induces  me  to  write  to 
you  when  I  say  that  for  many  days  I  have  been  thinking  much 
about  you,  and  have  been  daily  praying  that  God  would  visit  you 
with  heavenly  blessings." 

Many  of  Mr.  Dodge's  most  earnest  letters  on  religious 
subjects  were  addressed  to  those  who  had  become  addicted 
to  intemperate  habits. 

Writing  to  one  such  friend,  who  was  also  in  deep 
affliction,  he  says :  — 

"  You  have  hardly  been  out  of  my  mind  since  I  heard  of  the 
death  of  your  dear  wife.  Most  deeply  and  truly  do  I  sympathize 
with  you  in  your  sudden  and  great  bereavement.  May  God  give 
you  strength  in  the  lonely  moments  which  are  to  follow  the  excite- 
ment of  paying  the  last  rites  of  affection,  and  when  you  return  to 
your  desolated  home  !  As  I  went  back  to  my  office  I  felt  as  if  I 
wanted  to  say  to  you  a  few  words  which  come  from  a  full  heart, 
and  which  I  am  sure  you  will  appreciate.  I  have  never  spoken  to 
you  in  regard  to  a  matter  that  has  long  been  wholly  known  to  me, 
and  of  which  I  have  desired  to  speak,  but  have  deferred  it  from 
time  to  time.  I  mean  your  habit  of  using  stimulating  drinks.  I 
know  the  power  of  appetite  as  few  others  do,  for  I  have  made  it  a 
study  for  years.  You  know  it  by  sad  experience,  and  how,  too,  it 
grows  by  every  indulgence.  I  doubt  not  that  many,  many  times 
you  would  have  been  glad  to  be  able  to  give  it  up  forever,  but 
have  been  held  by  its  awful  power,  and  by  the  example  and  temp- 
tation of  your  associates.  I  feel  that  just  now  will  be,  perhaps,  the 
critical  time  of  your  life.  In  the  midst  of  your  loneliness  and 


LETTERS  TO   INDIVIDUALS.  2IQ 

affliction  you  will  be  tempted  as  never  before.  If  you  yield  you 
will,  I  fear,  soon  find  yourself  beyond  control.  If  you  follow  the 
leadings  of  your  better  judgment  and  the  dictates  of  conscience, 
and  resolve  that  from  this  time  forward,  looking  to  God  for  help, 
you  will  never  touch  a  drop  of  anything  that  will  intoxicate,  you 
will  through  all  time  and  eternity  bless  God  for  this  trial.  You 
cannot  tamper  with  this  monster  habit ;  nothing  but  absolute  giv- 
ing up  can  save  you.  I  have  seen  so  many  who  have  broken 
these  chains,  and  become,  by  the  grace  of  God,  free  men,  that  I 
cannot  refrain  from  writing  you.  During  this  present  week  I  have 
received  from  one  of  our  active  merchants  —  in  reply  to  a  letter 
written  to  him  recently  —  a  long  communication,  full  of  hope,  and 
containing  his  solemn  pledge  to  abstain  from  drink.  During  the 
week  I  have  also  received  a  letter  from  the  son  of  one  who  has  oc- 
cupied a  place  of  great  influence,  but  is  now  a  victim  of  this  habit, 
and  so  degraded  that  his  children  wish  to  get  him  into  an  asylum. 
Oh,  my  dear  sir,  do  at  once  take  the  stand  that  will  give  you  the 
high  position  your  peculiar  talents  enable  you  to  fill !  Pray  receive 
this  from  your  true  friend." 

It  was  not  unusual  for  Mr.  Dodge,  in  his  efforts  to  reach 
and  reform  individuals,  to  urge  them,  after  serious  conver- 
sation and  appeals,  at  once  to  sign  a  pledge  of  some  kind. 
Several  of  these  papers  appear  in  his  own  handwriting, 
and  bear  the  signatures  of  persons  with  whom  he  had 
special  relations. 

He  was  anxious  that  all  who  gave  satisfactory  evi- 
dence of  real  change  of  heart  should  make  a  public 
avowal  of  their  faith  by  uniting  with  some  recognized 
church.  Among  the  last  letters  he  wrote  was  one  to  the 
son  of  an  old  friend,  urging  him  to  take  this  decisive 
step :  — 

"  Let  me  beg  of  you  openly  to  honor  Him  whom  I  can  but 
think  you  are  anxious  to  please.  While  you  are  doing  much  for 
the  church  and  Sunday-school  now,  your  usefulness  for  all  that  is 
good  will  be  far  greater." 

In  his  efforts  to  help  Christians  or  irreligious  friends  Mr. 
Dodge  often  gave,  or  would  send  by  post,  some  book, 


220  LETTERS  TO  INDIVIDUALS. 

tract,  or  hymn,  which  he  thought  might  be  adapted  to 
their  special  state  of  mind.  He  aided  in  the  preparation 
or  distribution  of  a  number  of  publications  suitable  for -this 
purpose.  Among  those  more  recently  issued  he  helped 
to  circulate  some  of  the  pointed  and  practical  writings  of 
the  late  James  William  Kimball,  of  Boston :  "  How  to 
see  Jesus;  "  "  Faith,  and  how  to  come  by  it;  "  "  Heaven;  " 
and  others.  Mr.  Dodge's  last  work  of  this  character  was 
in  connection  with  the  volume  entitled  "Revivals:  How, 
and  When,"  by  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Newell,  D.D.  Its  recom- 
mendations in  respect  to  the  best  methods  for  promoting 
and  conducting  such  seasons  in  a  church  or  community, 
were  largely  in  accord  with  Mr.  Dodge's  own  views  and 
experience.  The  copies  he  sent  out  contained  a  slip  at- 
tached to  the  fly-leaf:  — 

"  Presented  by  Wm.  E.  Dodge,  an  old  friend  of  Dr.  Newell, 
with  the  request  that  it  be  carefully  read ;  and  may  God's  blessing 
attend  it." 

These  were  distributed  somewhat  widely  among  theo- 
logical students,  ministers,  and  home  missionaries.  Grate- 
ful acknowledgments  came  from  different  parts  of  the 
country,  some  reaching  the  city  on  the  very  day  his 
earthly  activities  so  suddenly  ceased.  It  was  fitting  that 
the  work  he  loved  best,  —  the  promotion  of  revivals  of 
religion,  —  should  have  a  place  among  his  latest  labors  for 
his  Master. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES. 
THE  AMERICAN   BIBLE  SOCIETY. 

ABOUT  the  year  1833  Mr.  Dodge  became  a  manager 
of  an  organization,  formed  chiefly  of  merchants 
and  clerks,  called  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Bible 
Society.  Its  special  object  was  "  to  supply  the  word  of 
God  to  the  destitute  of  the  city ;  to  emigrants  arriving  at 
the  port;  to  the  humane  and  criminal  institutions;  and  to 
the  naval  and  military  posts  in  the  vicinity."  It  was  also 
to  aid  in  obtaining  funds  for  the  central  body,  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  Society.  In  the  wards  of  the  city  the  agents 
of  the  Tract  Society  were  employed  to  act  for  the  Young 
Men's  Society.  Mr.  Dodge  became  responsible  for  the 
presentation  of  the  cause  and  making  collections  in  the 
Second  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church.  Apparently  he  also 
had  charge  for  some  time  of  supplying  the  Bibles  and 
Testaments  required  by  the  minister  who  served  as  special 
visitor  for  the  organization.  A  notebook  in  Mr.  Dodge's 
handwriting  records  the  number  of  books  given  out,  to- 
gether with  the  points  where  they  were  to  be  distributed. 
He  was  a  manager  of  the  Parent  Society  for  twenty-five 
years,  and  always  cherished  the  largest  conception  of  the 
importance  of  its  work.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
serving  on  a  special  committee  in  reference  to  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Old  Testament  into  Japanese.  He  was  a  regu- 
lar contributor  to  the  funds  of  the  Society,  and  left  it  a 
legacy  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  It  may  be  added  that  it 
was  chiefly  owing  to  the  efforts  of  his  father-in-law,  Anson 
G.  Phelps,  that  the  present  site  of  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety's House  was  secured. 


222  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES. 

THE  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  usefulness  of  tracts. 
When  a  young  man,  he  labored  as  a  volunteer  tract- 
distributor,  visiting  at  one  time  the  district  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Mariners'  Church  in  Catherine  Street. 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Tract 
Society,  in  resolutions  passed  soon  after  his  decease,  say 
in  part:  — 

"  Among  the  distinguished  laymen  in  the  roll  of  honored  offi- 
cials of  this  Society  Mr.  Dodge  stands  prominent  both  in  the  wide 
range  of  his  natural  and  acquired  gifts,  and  in  the  completeness 
of  their  consecration  and  the  effectiveness  of  their  employment  in 
the  service  of  Christ. 

"His  winning  presence  and  courteous  manners,  adorning  his 
high  social  position,  gave  him  great  power  with  individuals,  and  he 
employed  his  personal  influence,  far  more  than  most  Christians,  in 
the  work  of  saving  souls.  His  piety  was  as  practical  as  it  was  cheer- 
ful. Half  a  century  ago  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  counter  of 
the  Tract  Society,  replenishing  his  supply  of  tracts  and  volumes  for 
such  work.  It  is  believed  that  few  ministers  of  the  gospel  have 
performed  more  evangelistic  work  out  of  the  pulpit  than  he.  This 
practical  testimony  to  the  truth,  with  the  concurring  witness  of  a 
life  of  fearless  and  steadfast  consistency  to  his  high  Christian  prin- 
ciple, gave  great  power  to  his  public  appeals  for  the  cause  of 
Christ.  For  every  institution  devoted  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
good  of  man  he  had  a  genuine  sympathy,  and  on  every  such 
platform  he  was  ready  to  stand  forth,  and  his  earnest  and  persuasive 
speech  was  always  welcome  and  effective.  From  the  outset  of  his 
Christian  course  he  has  been  a  friend  of  this  Society,  —  a  vice- 
president  since  1864 ;  and  his  ready  and  hearty  advocacy  of  it 
in  public  and  in  private,  his  wise  counsels,  his  generous  regular 
and  special  contributions,  will  long  be  remembered." 

Mr.  Dodge  had  large  faith  also  in  colportage,  and  for 
many  years  paid  the  salary  of  a  missionary  of  the  Society, 
often  designating  a  field  of  labor  in  some  part  of  the 
country  where  he  had  business  interests.  He  particularly 


RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES.  223 

urged  that  this  unsectarian  and  evangelical  agency  be 
largely  employed  in  the  Southern  States.  The  Rev. 
George  L.  Shearer,  D.D.,  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the 
Society,  wrote  from  Richmond,  Va.,  Jan.  I,  1868:  — 

"  About  a  year  ago  the  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge,  in  an  address 
at  Washington,  B.C.,  directed  attention  to  the  providence  of  God 
in  preparing  and  perfecting  a  system  of  colportage  during  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  so  as  to  be  ready  at  this  juncture  to  enter  upon 
an  extended  and  holy  mission  in  the  desolated  South.  Recent 
letters  give  facts  showing  the  correctness  of  his  estimate  and  the 
good  fruits  of  such  efforts  in  these  States." 

Mr.  Dodge  evinced  his  confidence  in  the  large  useful- 
ness of  this  instrumentality  by  leaving  a  bequest  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars  to  the  American  Tract  Society,  the  income 
to  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  colporteurs,  "  especially  in 
Dodge  County,  Ga." 

CITY   MISSIONS. 

Mr.  Dodge's  name  appears  among  the  directors  of  the 
New  York  City  Mission  and  Tract  Society  at  its  organ- 
ization in  1827.  Mr.  Lewis  E.  Jackson,  secretary  of  this 
Society,  writes :  — 

"The  City  Mission  was  the  earliest  in  the  field  of  personal 
Christian  effort.  Mr.  Dodge  was  from  the  very  first  identified  with 
it.  I  became  acquainted  with  him  in  1844,  and  was  in  the  habit 
of  calling  upon  him  at  his  house  in  Eighteenth  Street.  Ever  since 
then  I  can  testify  to  his  uniform  interest  in  the  cause  of  evange- 
lization. I  think  he  was  a  contributor  to  every  free  evangelical 
church  and  to  every  religious  and  benevolent  movement  that  has 
been  started  in  this  city  during  the  last  fifty  years." 

Mr.  Dodge  made  a  bequest  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
to  this  Society,  to  be  applied  to  its  building  fund ;  and  this 
amount,  with  other  funds  of  the  Society,  and  contributions 
from  members  of  his  family  and  a  number  of  friends  of  city 
evangelization,  have  now  been  expended  in  the  erection  of 


224  RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES. 

a  large  and  well-appointed  church  for  the  people,  known 
as  the  Broome  Street  Tabernacle.  It  is  situated  in  the 
midst  of  a  dense  population  in  one  of  the  lower  districts 
of  the  city,  and  there  are  attached  to  it  a  free  library,  a 
gymnasium,  and  other  facilities  and  agencies  for  practical 
Christian  work.  A  memorial  tablet  has  been  placed  in  the 
vestibule,  bearing  this  inscription: — 

"William  E.  Dodge,  Christian  citizen,  patriot,  and  philan- 
thropist, whose  gifts  aided  in  the  erection  of  this  building." 

SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  an  enthusiastic  worker  in  the  cause  of 
Sunday-schools.  He  was  a  teacher  or  an  officer  in  them 
during  the  larger  part  of  his  life.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend, 
dated  April  30,  1880,  he  describes  his  earliest  attempts  of 
this  kind :  — 

"  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  first  Sunday-school  in  New  York  was 
started  by  Lemuel  Brewster  about  the  year  1818  over  a  livery- 
stable  at  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Stone  Streets.  It  was  intended 
only  for  the  very  poor  children  gathered  from  the  destitute  fam- 
ilies near  the  docks.  I  remember  going  in  as  a  lad,  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  and  asking  Mr.  Brewster  if  he  could  let  me  teach  a 
small  class  of  young  children.  I  shall  never  forget  his  reply : 
'  No ;  but  you  can  have  that  bench  there.  You  must  get  your 
own  class ; '  and  I  did  go  out  and  bring  in  some  four  or  five  little 
boys.  This  was  the  beginning  of  my  Sunday-school  work,  which 
lasted  fifty  years." 

A  former  customer  of  Mr.  Dodge  wrote,  Feb.  23, 
1883:  — 

"In  the  year  1825  I  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  the  Presbyterian 
Sunday-school  connected  with  Dr.  Samuel  H.  Cox's  church,  corner 
of  Laight  and  Varick  Streets.  I  there  first  saw  Mr.  Dodge,  who 
was  a  teacher  in  the  same  school.  I  was  associated  with  him 
about  two  years.  He  was  older  than  myself,  but  always  treated  me 
most  kindly.  I  was  at  the  time  an  apprentice,  learning  the  cop- 


RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES.  225 

persmith's  trade,  and  he  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Huntington  & 
Dodge.  I  saw  him  frequently  during  the  week,  as  our  places  of 
business  were  not  far  apart.  He  never  met  me  without  a  kind 
recognition  and  pleasant  word.  He  was  an  active  Christian ;  I  was 
not,  but  I  always  attended  the  young  people's  meeting,  which  was 
held  weekly  at  private  houses,  very  frequently  at  his  father's.  In 
those  meetings  Mr.  Dodge  took  a  prominent  part." 

The  Rev.  John  McCullagh,  missionary  and  district  sec- 
retary of  the  American  Sunday-School  Union,  wrote  in 
July,  1883:  — 

"  Mr.  Dodge  gave  two  grand  facts  at  our  anniversary  meeting  in 
the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  —  one  to  illustrate  giving,  and  the 
other  showing  the  importance  of  caring  for  the  destitute.  The  first 
was  the  story  of  his  cultivating  potato-hills  to  help  educate  a  poor 
native  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  ;  and  the  second  was  an  account  of 
the  ragged  boy  taken  into  his  class  under  the  most  discouraging 
circumstances.  I  have  repeated  these  stories  from  Charleston, 
S.  C.,  to  Bangor,  Me." 

The  last  incident  was  part  of  Mr.  Dodge's  early  experi- 
ence as  a  teacher.  A  boy  in  dirt  and  rags  came  one  day 
into  his  class.  The  other  scholars  were  indisposed  to  give 
him  a  seat ;  but  their  teacher  arranged  a  place  in  one 
corner,  and  after  school  learned  from  the  boy  something 
of  his  history.  It  was  the  old  sad  story  of  a  drunken 
father  and  wretched  home.  Mr.  Dodge  told  the  boy  to 
come  to  his  house  the  next  Sabbath  morning;  and  here  he 
received  a  suit  of  clothes  that  made  a  marked  difference 
in  his  appearance,  and  also  in  his  reception  at  the  school. 
But  the  following  Sabbath  he  came  again  in  the  same 
miserable  plight  as  at  first,  only  if  possible  looking  more 
woe-begone.  His  father  had  seized  the  clothes  and  sold 
them  for  rum.  Mr.  Dodge  provided  another  suit,  but  took 
the  precaution  to  have  his  scholar  come  regularly  to  his 
house  before  school,  put  on  the  Sunday  suit,  and  stop  to 
exchange  it  again  before  returning  home.  The  boy  showed 
an  eager  interest  in  the  lessons,  and  was  always  present. 


226  RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES. 

When  summer  came,  his  father  took  him  away  from  the 
city  for  several  months;  but  on  leaving,  the  boy  asked  for 
a  New  Testament,  and  said  he  would  try  to  learn  some 
verses  while  absent.  In  the  fall  he  was  in  his  old  seat 
again,  his  face  beaming  with  joy  at  finding  himself  once 
more  in  school.  As  the  class  was  being  dismissed,  he 
asked  his  teacher  somewhat  diffidently  if  he  would  be  will- 
ing to  wait  a  few  moments  to  hear  him  recite  a  few  verses. 
Mr.  Dodge  gladly  consented  and  sat  down,  expecting  the 
task  to  be  soon  over.  "Where  shall  we  begin?"  "Oh! 
anywhere,  sir ;  perhaps  at  the  first  chapter  of  John."  For 
twenty  minutes  the  boy  continued  to  recite,  needing  only 
an  occasional  prompting  of  a  word.  The  church  services 
were  then  to  begin,  and  they  were  compelled  to  go ;  but 
Mr.  Dodge  agreed  to  remain  again  the  next  Sabbath. 
This  was  continued  for  several  weeks,  chapter  after  chapter 
being  repeated  with  wonderful  accuracy.  In  the  course  of 
time  the  family  moved  away,  and  Mr.  Dodge  lost  sight  of 
the  scholar  who  had  so  greatly  interested  him.  Many 
years  after,  as  Mr.  Dodge  was  sitting  in  his  office,  a  tall, 
fine-looking,  well-dressed  young  man  approached  him,  and, 
with  a  moment's  hesitation,  said,  "  You  do  not  remember 
me."  "  No,  I  can  hardly  recall  your  face."  "  Do  you 

recollect  a  little  ragged  boy  named ,  who  came  into 

your  Sunday-school  class  one  day?"  "Certainly  I  do." 
"  I  am  that  boy."  And  then,  with  some  pardonable  pride, 
and  to  Mr.  Dodge's  surprise  and  delight,  he  told  how  he 
had  succeeded  in  obtaining  work  in  a  large  manufacturing 
establishment;  how  he  gradually  won  his  way  up  to  a 
responsible  and  confidential  position ;  and  how  finally  the 
original  partners  relinquished  one  branch  of  their  business 
and  handed  it  over  to  himself  and  one  or  two  others  of 
their  principal  assistants.  He  had  now  become  a  member 
and  officer  of  a  church,  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school, 
and  had  a  family  of  his  own.  It  may  be  added  that  since 
then  he  has  advanced  still  further  in  wealth  and  influence. 


RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES.  22? 

Mr.  McCullagh's  letter  refers  to  another  case  in  which 
Mr.  Dodge  felt  deep  interest :  — 

"  Mr.  M.  B.  Lewis,  of  Red  Wing,  Minn.,  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful missionaries  of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union,  has 
always  spoken  of  Mr.  Dodge  as  his  spiritual  father.  He  has  now 
labored  twenty-two  years  in  that  field,  and  cannot  recall  the  dis- 
banding of  a  single  Bible-school." 

Mr.  Lewis,  when  a  young  man  travelling  for  business 
purposes,  spent  a  day  in  a  small  town  in  Pennsylvania 
where  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Dodge,  a  merchant  from 
New  York,  would  make  an  address  that  evening  in  one  of 
the  churches.  Chiefly  from  curiosity  to  hear  what  a  busi- 
ness man  would  say  on  the  subject  of  religion,  he  remained 
and  attended  the  service.  Something  in  the  remarks 
arrested  his  attention,  led  to  serious  thought,  and  finally 
to  whole-hearted  consecration  to  Christ.  After  Mr.  Lewis 
became  a  Sunday-school  missionary  in  the  West  he  was 
supported  by  the  Sabbath-school  Missionary  Association 
of  the  Fourteenth  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  where  Mr. 
Dodge  was  superintendent  (Sunday-school  No.  60).  To 
encourage  this  Association  in  sending  out  Sunday-school 
libraries,  Mr.  Dodge  for  several  successive  years  agreed  to 
double  the  amount  of  their  subscriptions  for  this  purpose, 
—  an  offer  that  enabled  them  during  one  year  (1863)  to 
distribute  thirty-four  libraries. 

Mr.  Dodge  often  received  applications  for  Sunday-school 
books  and  papers,  and  it  was  his  delight  to  respond.  In 
his  earlier  days  "  The  Penny  Gazette,"  "  The  Sunday- 
School  Journal,"  and  other  papers  were  among  the  num- 
ber. He  held  that  a  good  library  gave  interest  and 
permanency  to  a  school,  and  helped  to  make  it  a  fountain 
of  blessing  to  a  whole  community,  especially  in  new  and 
remote  places. 

Mr.  Dodge  carried  his  business  energy  and  promptness 
into  the  Sunday-school,  and  also  his  genial,  attractive  man- 
ner. Teachers  and  scholars  were  attached  to  him ;  they 


228  RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES. 

loved  to  see  his  face  and  hear  his  cheerful  voice.  He  felt 
a  personal  interest  in  each  one,  and  made  it  his  concern  to 
know  something  of  their  spiritual  condition.  The  Rev. 
Henry  A.  Stimson,  in  an  article  in  the  "  Congregation- 
alist,"  mentions  an  instance  of  this  solicitude  for  the  con- 
version of  individual  scholars :  — 

"  Many  years  ago  a  lady  of  my  acquaintance,  then  a  young  girl, 
was  a  member  of  the  school  of  which  Mr.  Dodge  was  superin- 
tendent. One  winter  she  had  two  young  ladies  visiting  her.  None 
of  them  were  Christians,  and  their  thoughts  were  largely  absorbed 
in  a  round  of  social  gayety.  Some  religious  interest  appeared  in 
the  church  and  Sunday-school,  and  Mr.  Dodge  astonished  my 
friend  by  calling  upon  her  early  one  morning  for  personal  religious 
conversation.  He  was  then  comparatively  a  young  man,  engaged 
in  an  extensive  and  engrossing  business,  and  having  also  a  large 
family.  His  explanation  of  the  unusual  hour  of  his  visit  was  that 
only  on  his  way  to  and  from  his  office  could  he  find  time  to  see 
the  members  of  his  Sunday-school.  He  seemed  to  hold  himself 
responsible  for  them  all,  and,  not  leaving  the  work  to  his  teachers, 
he  aimed  to  bring  them,  by  his  personal  labors,  one  by  one  to 
Christ.  His  efforts  at  the  house  of  my  friend  were  to  such  effect 
that  before  the  winter  passed  she  and  both  her  guests  gave  their 
hearts  to  the  Saviour.  More  than  forty  years  afterwards  this  lady, 
speaking  in  her  family  circle  of  Mr.  Dodge,  narrated  this  expe- 
rience, when  to  her  surprise  one  of  her  brothers,  who  was  present, 
declared  that  he  had  been  led  to  Christ  in  the  same  way ;  and  not 
only  so,  but  four  other  brothers,  who  had  been  members  of  the 
same  Sabbath-school,  and  have  long  been  Christian  men,  owed 
their  conversion  to  the  same  agency.  Mr.  Dodge  had  sought  them 
out  one  by  one,  and  had  faithfully  followed  them  up  until  he  saw 
them  within  the  fold  of  the  Church." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  always  ready  to  adopt  any  measure  that 
would  promote  the  efficiency  of  the  Sunday-school.  He 
wished  it  to  occupy  to  the  fullest  extent  its  legitimate 
sphere.  But  he  was  unwilling  to  have  it  impair  the  obli- 
gation of  parents  to  give  religious  instruction  at  home,  nor 


RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES.  229 

could  he  favor  any  exaltation  of  the  Sunday-school  that 
might  be  pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  children  not  attending 
the  regular  services  of  the  house  of  God. 

At  the  Second  General  Council  of  the  Presbyterian 
Alliance,  when  the  subject  of  "  Sunday-schools,  their  use 
and  abuse,"  was  under  discussion,  Mr.  Dodge  made  the 
following  remarks  :  — 

"  Having  been  for  thirty-five  years  a  superintendent,  it  is  not 
necessary  for  me  to  say  I  love  and  honor  the  Sunday-school.  But 
for  some  time  I  have  had  serious  fears  in  regard  to  it,  especially 
in  our  city  of  New  York,  —  I  will  not  speak  of  places  outside  of 
that.  Children  in  our  city,  particularly  those  connected  with  our 
churches,  are  very  differently  situated  from  what  they  once  were. 
Children  of  parents  connected  with  the  churches  are  burdened  as 
they  never  were  before  with  their  weekly  lessons.  When  I  was 
young,  and  when  I  had  a  young  family  about  me,  in  all  our  Pres- 
byterian churches  in  New  York  it  was  the  habit  of  parents  to  take 
their  children  with  them  to  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  or  lecture. 
Now  the  poor  children  come  home  with  their  arms  full  of  school- 
books,  and  parents  have  not  the  heart  to  urge  them  to  the  evening 
meeting  because  their  lessons  must  be  ready  for  the  next  morning, 
and  the  child  loses  that  love  for  the  services  of  the  church  that  we 
as  children  used  to  have,  and  our  children  had  when  young.  How 
is  it  on  the  Sabbath?  As  we  enter  the  sanctuary  the  Sabbath- 
school  is  out,  and  we  often  see  the  children  —  ten,  twenty,  thirty 
per  cent  of  them — turning  away  from  the  house  of  God  and  going 
home  to  read  their  library  books  because  they  have  had  an  hour 
and  a  half  already,  and  the  kind  parent  will  not  ask  them  to  go 
into  church.  In  the  evening  there  is  a  meagre  audience,  and  only 
here  and  there  a  child. 

"  I  love  the  Sabbath-school ;  but  I  say  you  had  better  keep  your 
children  at  home,  and  never  let  them  enter  the  Sabbath-school,  if 
by  attending  it  they  leave  the  church  and  grow  up  without  any 
love  for  it." 

"  This  explains,"  he  adds  in  a  letter  referring  to  this 
address,  "  why  so  few  revivals  are  known  in  our  city 
churches.  Speaking  after  the  manner  of  man,  there  is 


230  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES. 

no  material  to  work  upon.  Years  ago,  when  I  was  the 
superintendent  of  a  Sabbath-school  that  embraced  rich 
and  poor,  our  church  was  constantly  recruited  from  the 
Sunday-school.  The  children  of  the  church  were  all  taken 
to  the  sanctuary,  and  parents  felt  it  a  duty  to  bring  them 
also  to  the  weekly  meeting." 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Dodge's  death  a  friend  wrote  to  the 
"  New  York  Evangelist,"  March  8,  1883 :  — 

"  About  a  dozen  years  ago  Mr.  Dodge  spent  a  Sabbath  in  Phila- 
delphia. Mrs.  Dodge  was  with  him,  and  they  attended  the  Clin- 
ton Street  Presbyterian  Church  to  hear  a  sermon  from  the  Rev. 
Daniel  March,  D.D.,  who  was  then  pastor.  At  the  close  of  the 
service  he  turned  to  me  and  asked  why  the  church  was  trimmed 
up  with  evergreens,  and  why  the  profuse  display  of  plants  about 
the  pulpit. 

"  I  told  him  that  the  anniversary  of  the  Sabbath-school  would 
take  place  in  the  evening,  and  that  we  should  be  much  pleased  if 
he  would  come  and  take  part  in  the  exercises ;  that  they  were  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  the  anniversaries  of  most  Sabbath-schools,  and 
I  felt  sure  he  would  enjoy  himself.  He  admired  the  taste  dis- 
played in  the  floral  decorations,  but  did  not  promise  to  come  to  the 
anniversary.  In  the  evening  the  church  was  crowded,  and  as  the 
exercises  were  about  to  commence  I  spied  Mr.  Dodge  endeavoring 
to  find  seats  for  himself  and  Mrs.  Dodge  near  the  door. 

"  At  once  he  was  brought  to  the  platform,  where  he  was  evidently 
deeply  interested  in  the  proceedings.  The  concert  lesson  for  the 
evening  was  the  first  half  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  each  class  ris- 
ing and  answering  the  questions  as  called  upon,  some  of  the  more 
general  questions,  such  as  '  What  is  God  ?  '  '  What  is  sin  ?  '  being 
answered  by  the  whole  school  in  concert.  The  drill  had  been 
thorough,  so  that  each  answer  was  given  clearly,  and  so  accurately 
in  concert  that  each  -word  could  be  distinguished. 

"  It  was  evident  that  something  in  the  recitation  touched  the 
heart  of  the  distinguished  visitor.  He  smiled  almost  '  audibly,'  his 
eyes  glistened,  and  his  whole  countenance  lighted  up. 

"  When  called  upon  to  speak,  shortly  after  the  lesson,  his  full 
heart  manifested  itself  in  joyful,  animated,  rapid  utterances ;  the 


RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES.  231 

clear,  ringing  voice  being  heard  in  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
house.  '  I  don't  know  when  I  have  been  so  joyfully  surprised,' 
he  said,  '  as  in  your  delightful  recitation  of  the  dear  old  catechism. 
You  have  taken  me  back  to-night  to  my  old  New  England  home, 
to  the  hours  of  my  childhood,  when  at  my  father's  knee  I  mastered 
these  very  answers,  these  identical  words,  just  as  you  have  done, 
and  could  repeat  them  just  as  promptly  and  with  the  same  appa- 
rent interest.  I  cannot  imagine  who  has  put  it  into  the  heart  of 
your  superintendent  to  provide  this  most  beautiful  concert-lesson, 
interspersing  these  snatches  of  hymns  and  anthems  so  appropri- 
ately between  the  answers,  imbedding  such  valuable  lessons  in 
your  young  hearts.' 

"  And  so  he  continued  through  a  pithy,  pointed,  delightful  ad- 
dress of  probably  twenty  minutes,  emphasizing  the  beauty  and 
value  of  some  of  the  answers,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  scholars, 
teachers,  superintendent,  and  pastor. 

"  And  now,  as  the  good  man  has  gone  before  us  to  the  better 
land,  and  the  record  of  his  wonderful  life  is  being  rehearsed  among 
the  churches,  may  we  not  believe  that  his  solid,  well-balanced  char- 
acter owed  something  to  the  interweaving  into  his  life  of  the  clear, 
well-expressed  doctrines  of  our  holy  religion  as  laid  down  in  our 
Shorter  Catechism? 

"  Do  not  the  hundred  and  seven  answers  form  grand  founda- 
tion-stones upon  which  to  build  solid,  successful  lives  ?  " 

Mr.  Dodge  was  so  strongly  impressed  with  the  value  of 
the  undenominational  system  of  colportage  that  he  con- 
stantly aided  this  special  feature  of  the  American  Sunday- 
School  Union,  often  paying  the  salary  of  a  colporteur, 
receiving  his  monthly  reports,  and  occasionally  writing 
him  letters  of  encouragement.  A  few  days  before  he  died 
he  arranged  to  have  such  an  agent  sent  into  three  of  the 
more  neglected  counties  of  Kentucky,  near  which  one  of 
his  sons  had  business  relations. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  vice-president  of  the 
American  Sunday-School  Union,  and  at  one  time  served 
as  chairman  of  the  New  York  Sunday-School  Teachers' 
Association. 


232  RELIGIOUS   SOCIETIES. 

When  travelling,  it  was  his  invariable  rule  to  stop  for 
the  Sabbath ;  and  one  of  his  first  inquiries  was  almost  sure 
to  be  in  regard  to  the  Sunday-schools  of  the  place.  He 
would  often  attend  one  or  more  sessions,  for  he  loved  to 
address  children ;  and  when  speaking  to  them  would  fre- 
quently give  expression  to  a  thought  always  present  in  his 
mind,  —  the  rapidity  with  which  the  children  become  the 
responsible  men  and  women  of  a  community.  Writing  to 
a  young  minister  whom  he  had  aided  in  his  theological 
course,  he  says,  Dec.  29,  1879:  — 

"  I  am  pleased  to  find  you  settled  in  Iowa,  on  the  line  of  the 
Rock  Island  Railroad.  That  State  in  twenty  years  will  be  one  of 
the  most  important  in  the  Union ;  and  it  will  be  a  great  thing  to 
have  been  engaged  in  its  early  development  and  the  formation  of 
its  religious  character.  Those  boys  in  your  Sunday-schools  will 
then  be  among  the  prominent  men  of  the  State.  Always  keep 
this  in  mind  in  your  efforts  for  Sunday-school  scholars." 

At  public  gatherings  of  the  children  he  loved  to  be  pres- 
ent, and  in  the  days  when  the  Sabbath-schools  of  the  city 
were  in  the  habit  of  marching  in  procession  to  the  old 
Broadway  Tabernacle,  or  Cooper  Union,  or  to  any  of  the 
large  churches,  to  celebrate  the  May  anniversary,  Mr. 
Dodge  was  an  active  leader,  and  often  made  one  of  the 
addresses. 

He  was  always  ready  to  use  his  influence  in  favor  of  this 
cause.  In  January,  1878,  he  wrote  to  President  Hayes, 
urging  him  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Sunday-school 
Union  to  be  held  at  Washington.  In  this  letter  he  says : 

"  I  am  sure  the  great  work  of  this  Society  during  the  past  half 
century  has  not  escaped  your  notice,  or  the  vast  good  it  has  ac- 
complished in  the  religious  education  of  millions  of  children,  many 
of  whom  are  now  the  leading  men  and  women  of  the  West.  It  is 
the  object  of  this  organization  to  plant  as  far  as  possible  a  Sabbath- 
school  in  every  needy  neighborhood  throughout  the  West  and 
South." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS.  — THE  GENERAL 
ASSEMBLY.  — THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE. 

YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS. 

ONE  so  quick  to  sympathize  with  the  young,  so  famil- 
iar with  the  circumstances  of  young  men  in  a  great 
city,  and  having  himself —  even  to  old  age  —  a  heart  so 
full  of  freshness  and  enthusiasm,  could  not  fail  to  appre- 
ciate the  aims  and  usefulness  of  such  an  organization  as 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  He  felt  a  special 
interest  in  the  New  York  branch,  and  gave  liberally  to  its 
objects.  When  it  took  possession  of  its  rooms  on  Fifth 
Avenue,  at  the  corner  of  Twenty-second  Street,  he  spoke  at 
one  of  the  first  receptions,  Jan.  12,  1865,  and  he  promptly 
subscribed  to  the  fund  for  the  erection  of  the  present 
spacious  building  at  the  corner  of  Twenty-third  Street  and 
Fourth  Avenue.  His  eldest  son  was  at  that  time  and  for 
many  subsequent  years  president  of  this  Association.  Mr. 
Dodge  often  spoke  on  the  platform  of  Association  Hall, 
both  in  the  interest  of  the  Association  itself  and  for  other 
religious  and  benevolent  efforts.  His  broad  and  practical 
views  led  him  to  aid  regularly  the  operations  of  the  Inter- 
national Committee,  and  he  left  a  bequest  of  five  thousand 
dollars  to  this  Committee,  "  to  be  applied  to  work  among 
the  Germans." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of  the  New  York  contributors  to 
extinguish  the  debt  upon  the  building  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
of  San  Francisco ;  and  when  he  visited  California  in  the 
spring  of  1882  he  was  much  surprised  and  touched  by  a 


234  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS. 

public  reception  given  to  him  by  the  Association  in  their 
own  rooms.  He  made  a  long  address  on  that  occasion, 
and  on  the  following  Sabbath  evening  spoke  again  to 
young  men  in  one  of  the  large  Presbyterian  churches  of 
the  city.  On  the  announcement  of  his  death  —  less  than 
a  year  afterwards  —  a  memorial  service  was  held  in  the 
hall  of  the  San  Francisco  Association,  at  which  resolutions 
of  respect  were  passed.  One  of  them  reads :  — 

"The  country  loses  a  citizen  whose  power  for  good  was  felt 
throughout  its  length  and  breadth,  whose  defence  of  the  sanctity 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  whose  acts  of  benevolence  have  endeared 
him  to  Christian  people  everywhere,  and  whose  life  of  business 
integrity  and  practical  philanthropy  has  made  his  example  worthy 
the  emulation  of  every  young  man." 

Mr.  George  Williams,  of  the  Parent  Association  in  Lon- 
don, writes,  Feb.  24,  1883  :  — 

"  Will  you  allow  me,  as  representing  the  Y.  M.  C.  Associations 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  to  offer  our  heartfelt  sympathy.  Mr. 
Dodge  was  with  us  at  our  last  International  Conference,  held  in 
London,  October,  1881.  He  spoke  at  the  reception  given  by  the 
Lord  Mayor  at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  and  at  the  large  public  meeting 
at  Exeter  Hall  presided  over  by  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury.  His 
words  were : 

" '  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  all  Christian 
organizations.  The  future  of  our  country  depends  on  the  young 
men  who  are  rising  up  to  take  our  places  in  the  church,  in  the  hall, 
in  commerce,  and  in  politics.  He  rejoiced  that  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
young  men  had  the  opportunity  of  enjoying  Christian  fellowship 
and  influences,  and  he  believed  thousands  had  been  led  by  means 
of  the  Association  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  were  now  active, 
consecrated,  and  successful  workers  in  the  vineyard,  gathering  in 
the  golden  sheaves  to  his  glory.' 

"  We  cherish  these  words  from  one  who  was  such  a  bright 
example  to  young  men.  May  his  mantle  fall  upon  thousands  of 
the  members  of  our  Associations  in  various  countries  of  the 
earth  ! " 


THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY.  235 

The  "  Association  Notes  "  for  March,  1883,  issued  by 
the  New  York  Association,  contains  a  reference  to  Mr. 
Dodge  by  the  secretary,  Mr.  R.  R.  McBurney:  — 

"  By  the  death  of  the  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge  on  the  gth  ultimo 
New  York  lost  her  most  public-spirited  citizen,  and  the  Association 
one  of  its  warmest  friends.  In  every  form  of  Christian  and  philan- 
thropic work  Mr.  Dodge  took  a  lively  interest.  He  rendered  an 
amount  of  service  on  committees  and  in  personal  ministry  to  the 
sick  in  body  and  soul  which  was  surprising  in  a  man  having  so 
many  business  interests  claiming  his  attention.  The  object  of  his 
last  visit  to  the  rooms  —  about  a  week  before  his  death  —  was  in 
connection  with  a  young  stranger,  addicted  to  drink,  who  needed 
sympathy.  It  is  a  question  whether  there  has  ever  lived  in  the 
city  of  New  York  a  man  who  combined  as  large  means  with  as 
wide  Christian  sympathies  as  Mr.  Dodge.  His  life  was  spent  in 
giving,  and  in  work  for  others,  to  an  extent  that  the  public  has  no 
conception  of.  The  statements  in  these  respects  which  have  been 
made,  fall  far  short  of  the  whole  truth.  Much  that  he  did  was 
known  only  to  himself  and  to  his  Master.  Much  of  his  giving  was 
of  course  known  to  the  public ;  it  could  not  be  kept  secret,  it  was  so 
universal.  Yet  we  believe  that  most  that  he  did  in  these  regards 
was  unknown.  We  have  had  the  privilege  for  more  than  twenty 
years  of  seeing  him  under  different  circumstances,  but  always  the 
same  warm-hearted,  judicious  friend  of  all  whom  by  word  or  money 
he  could  help  or  cheer.  Some  who  have  viewed  Mr.  Dodge  at  a 
distance  may  think  that  he  has  been  praised  too  much ;  those  who 
had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  him  most  intimately,  know  that  it  is 
very  difficult  to  find  words  to  express  the  praise  which  he  deserved. 
His  life  and  influence  were  a  blessing  wherever  he  went.  He 
made  the  most  of  life  in  that  he  lived  not  for  himself,  but  for 
others.  For  the  example  of  his  unselfish  life  in  these  times  we 
have  cause  to  thank  God." 

THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  appointed  several  times  a  commissioner 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Even  when  not  attending  its  sessions,  he  always  followed 


236  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

the  proceedings  with  interest,  especially  any  measures  to 
bring  about  larger  activity  in  the  work  at  home  or  abroad, 
or  to  promote  an  increase  of  the  piety  and  benevolence  of 
the  membership.  He  had  a  high  and  loyal  regard  for  the 
order  and  standards  of  his  Church,  but  no  zeal  for  exclu- 
sively denominational  objects.  He  could  not  be  partisan 
or  sectarian. 

In  an  address  at  the  fourteenth  anniversary  of  the  Con- 
gregational Union  (1867),  he  says:  — 

"  I  was  born  in  Connecticut,  and  joined  in  early  life  the  Congre- 
gational Church.  I  came  to  New  York  and  united  with  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  after  a  while  was,  I  suppose,  cut  asunder 
from  the  old  party.  I  found  myself  one  day  a  member  of  a  Pres- 
byterian Church  called  the  'New  School.'  I  have  never  known  any 
particular  difference ;  certainly  I  have  not  been  aware  of  any 
change  in  my  theological  sentiments  in  being  a  Congregationalist, 
an  Old  Presbyterian,  or  a  New  Presbyterian." 

No  one  hailed  with  greater  joy  the  proposition  for  a 
reunion  of  these  two  dissevered  branches  of  the  great  Pres- 
byterian body.  Mr.  Dodge  served  upon  the  Committee 
of  Conference  appointed  by  both  General  Assemblies. 
Just  before  the  final  act  of  union  took  place,  Mr.  Dodge 
was  associated  with  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  in 
bearing  to  the  Old  School  Assembly  the  fraternal  greet- 
ings of  the  New.  They  were  received  with  every  token  of 
kindness  and  respect.  Immediately  afterwards  he  shared 
in  the  memorable  ceremonies  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  Nov.  12, 
1869,  when  the  commissioners  of  the  two  assemblies  met 
in  procession  in  the  public  streets,  and  joining  arm  and 
arm,  entered  the  church  arranged  for  this  glad  consumma- 
tion of  plans  and  hopes  that  would  bring  such  unmeasured 
blessings  to  the  churches  connected  with  these  bodies,  and 
to  the  world  at  large.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Dodge  made 
the  following  remarks :  — 

"  If  I  attempt  to  say  anything,  dear  brethren,  it  will  be  to  give 
an  outburst  of  my  heart  in  the  words  of  the  Psalmist :    '  Bless  the 


THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY.  237 

Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me  bless  his  holy  name  ! ' 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  for  the  privilege  of  living  to  see  this 
day  !  My  heart  bled  at  the  time  of  separation  ;  and  I  thank  God 
that  I  am  here  to-day  to  unite  with  you  in  ascriptions  of  praise  and 
glory  to  hirn. 

"  Hereafter  our  strong  men,  our  honored  professors,  will  not 
spend  their  time  in  attempting  to  find  out  whether  we  differ  as  a 
Church,  but  in  the  determination  to  stimulate  us  to  the  utmost 
capacity,  so  that  every  member  of  this  united  Church  may  go  for- 
ward in  the  great  work  of  subduing  this  dying  world  to  Jesus  Christ. 
I  have  no  doubt  we  have  honestly  differed ;  but  let  us  forget  all 
those  differences.  We  are  a  united  country ;  and  if  we  would  be 
united  in  truth,  North  and  South,  and  be  one  great  country,  we 
must  forget  all  past  causes  of  separation. 

"  More  than  twenty  years  ago  two  eminent  merchants  in  the 
city  of  New  York  commenced  business  together  poor,  but  they 
prospered  year  by  year  until  each  had  rolled  up  a  large  estate. 
Upon  one  occasion  they  differed  in  regard  to  a  matter  of  policy  in 
business.  The  difference  grew  into  anger;  they  separated,  each 
believing  the  other  intended  to  do  wrong.  The  very  next  day 
there  was  a  dissolution  of  partnership ;  and  for  ten  long  years  they 
never  spoke  to  each  other,  their  business  being  settled  through 
mutual  friends.  They  grew  gray  in  their  differences.  At  last,  as 
one  of  them  was  musing  in  his  library,  thinking  of  the  origin  of  the 
separation  and  of  their  pleasure  in  early  life,  the  thought  passed 
through  his  mind,  '  Can  it  be  possible  that  I  misunderstood  him  ? ' 
He  spent  a  sleepless  night;  and  in  the  morning  he  went  to  a  friend 
of  both,  and  said,  '  Go  to  my  former  partner,  and  see  if  he  meant 
so  and  so.'  The  answer  was,  '  No  !  I  never  thought  of  such  a 
thing.'  When  the  merchant  who  had  sent  the  message  received 
this  reply  he  exclaimed,  '  Can  it  be  possible  that  we  have  suffered 
all  this  through  these  many  years  simply  because  we  misunderstood 
each  other,  or  thought  we  did  ? '  A  reconciliation  took  place,  and 
the  two  men  were  bound  together  again  as  long  as  they  lived. 

"  Let  this  union  of  ours  be  one  that  shall  never  break.  Let  us 
never  separate  because  we  think  we  differ  on  certain  questions 
of  policy.  What  we  want  now  is  to  aid  one  another  to  the  utmost 
of  our  ability.  Let  all  the  past  be  forgotten,  and  let  us  go 
forward." 


238  THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE. 

During  the  first  session  of  this  reunited  body  a  move- 
ment was  made  to  open  friendly  correspondence  with  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  Dodge,  with  the  Rev. 
Dr.  John  C.  Backus  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  J.  Van  Dyck, 
were  appointed  a  deputation  to  visit  the  Southern  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  then  in  session  at  Louisville,  Ky.  "  They 
were  received  with  cordiality  by  the  delegates  of  that  As- 
sembly, and  in  the  presence  of  a  large  audience  explained 
their  mission.  While  they  were  speaking,  the  breathless 
interest  and  deep  emotion  of  their  hearers  gave  good  hope 
of  the  success  of  their  efforts,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  their 
remarks  many  took  them  by  the  hand  and  thanked  them 
for  coming."  To  the  regret,  however,  of  the  body  which 
had  sent  them,  and  of  large  numbers  of  Presbyterians  at 
the  North,  and  also  in  some  degree  at  the  South,  this 
attempt  to  establish  fraternal  relations  failed. 

The  reunited  General  Assembly  at  Pittsburg  resolved 
to  raise  a  memorial  fund  of  five  millions  of  dollars  as  a 
thank-offering  to  commemorate  the  auspicious  union. 
Mr.  Dodge  became  treasurer  of  this  fund.  The  total  con- 
tributions were  reported  to  be  nearly  eight  millions. 
Most  of  it,  however,  passed  through  the  treasuries  of  the 
various  Presbyterian  Boards,  or  were  applied  directly  to 
institutions  and  individual  churches,  or  other  approved 
objects.  During  the  efforts  to  secure  this  fund,  Mr.  Dodge 
made  many  addresses  in  its  behalf  both  in  New  York  and 
elsewhere. 

In  September,  1880,  he  attended,  as  already  noticed, 
the  Second  General  Council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance, 
convened  at  Philadelphia,  taking  part  in  the  discussions, 
and  reading  a  carefully  prepared  paper  on  "  The  Church 
and  Temperance." 

THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE 

was     another    organization    that    appealed     strongly    to 
Mr.    Dodge's   catholic   spirit.      Its   principles    and    inter- 


THE   EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE. 


239 


national  character  were  in  harmony  with  his  own  love  of 
Christian  union,  his  desire  to  keep  in  their  appropriate 
subordination  all  minor  differences  of  religious  denomina- 
tions and  theological  schools,  and  to  bring  believers  of 
every  name  and  land  into  closer  fellowship  and  co-opera- 
tion. He  had  already  taken  part  in  organized  efforts  in 
this  general  direction,  having  been  (before  1848)  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Protes- 
tant Society,  and  afterwards  a  director  of  the  American 
and  Foreign  Christian  Union ;  but  the  aim  of  these  bodies 
was  more  limited  and  specific. 

At  the  formation  of  the  American  branch  of  the  Alliance 
in  1866,  Mr.  Dodge  became  the  first  president,  and  retained 
the  office  until  his  death.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  its 
proceedings,  and  frequently  presented  its  claims  before  the 
churches  and  the  public. 

In  1871  he  was  one  of  the  delegates  from  the  American 
branch  to  join  a  general  deputation  from  Great  Britain 
and  other  countries  of  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  present- 
ing a  petition  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia  in  behalf  of  perse- 
cuted Lutherans  in  the  Baltic  provinces.  The  deputation 
was  received  at  Stuttgart  by  Prince  Gortschakoff,  repre- 
senting his  sovereign.  A  letter  written  by  Mr.  Dodge  from 
Paris,  Aug.  15,  1871,  to  the  Rev.  S.  Irenaeus  Prime,  D.D., 
editor  of  the  "  New  York  Observer,"  and  also  a  prominent 
officer  of  the  American  branch,  gives  an  account  of  the 
interview :  — 

"  In  your  issue  of  the  2Oth  ultimo  I  regret  to  find  you  have  been 
misinformed  by  the  telegraphic  reports  in  reference  to  what  took 
place  at  our  interview  with  Prince  Gortschakoff;  and  I  am  confi- 
dent serious  injury  to  the  cause  we  advocated  will  result  if  these 
statements  remain  unconnected. 

"  It  is  there  stated  that  the  Imperial  Chancellor  expressed  the 
sympathy  of  his  sovereign  with  the  object  of  the  petition,  and  said 
that  on  his  return  to  St.  Petersburg  the  Czar  would  attend  to  the 
request  of  the  deputation  and  introduce  religious  reforms  through- 


240  THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE. 

out  Russia,  and  that  Protestants  should  be  placed  on  an  equal 
footing  with  members  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church,  by  the 
repeal  of  the  coercive  laws  existing  against  them. 

"  I  am  sure  this  will  strike  all  who  were  present  as  an  unfortu- 
nate statement  of  what  actually  occurred.  We  were  received  in 
a  familiar,  conversational  manner,  with  the  distinct  understanding 
on  the  part  of  the  minister  that  the  interview  was  not  to  be  con- 
sidered official.  We  remained  more  than  an  hour,  and  were 
treated  with  extreme  politeness ;  but  the  skill  of  the  experienced 
diplomatist  was  shown  in  the  reserve  of  the  Chancellor.  He  heard 
all  we  desired  to  offer,  but  did  not  commit  himself  or  his  sovereign 
to  anything  further  than  that  he  would  present  our  views  fairly. 
He  was  most  careful  to  say  that,  in  his  opinion,  no  government 
in  the  world  was  more  tolerant  than  Russia;  not  only  were  all 
religions  permitted,  but  the  State  paid  for  their  support,  as  it  does 
in  the  case  of  the  Greek  Church.  He  wished  it  understood,  how- 
ever, that  the  Emperor  could  not  for  a  moment  admit  of  interfer- 
ence ;  whatever  he  did  must  be  the  result  of  his  own  wise  judgment. 
The  laws  were  still  in  full  force  which  forbid  the  return  to  the 
Protestant  faith  of  any  who  have  once  joined  the  Greek  Church ; 
but  all  who  are  Protestants  have  every  liberty. 

"  In  these  and  other  remarks  during  the  interview,  Prince 
Gortschakoff  made  no  statement  such  as  the  telegraph  reports 
have  led  you  to  suppose. 

"I  may  add  that  while  we  did  not  secure  all  we  asked  and 
desired,  we  did  come  away  with  the  strong  conviction  that  much 
good  might  result  from  this  interview ;  but  if  erroneous  accounts 
of  the  occasion  are  circulated  and  find  their  way  back  to  Russia,  — 
as  they  undoubtedly  will,  —  any  favorable  results  will  be  greatly 
hindered." 

A  general  convention  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  was 
held  in  New  York  in  the  autumn  of  1873.  The  list  of 
delegates  presented  a  membership  of  over  516,  of  which 
more  than  a  hundred  came  from  foreign  countries,  and 
some  fifty  additional  from  the  British  North  American 
Provinces.  A  number  of  foreign  missionaries  were  also 
in  attendance. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE.  241 

In  opening  the  Convention  Mr.  Dodge  spoke  as 
follows :  — 

FELLOW-CHRISTIANS,  MEMBERS,  AND  DELEGATES,  —  It  becomes 
my  pleasant  duty,  as  president  of  the  American  branch  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance,  to  call  the  Conference  to  order,  that  the 
necessary  steps  may  be  taken  for  permanent  organization. 

In  response  to  our  invitation,  you  have  come  from  different 
parts  of  the  world  to  attend  this  General  Conference  in  a  land 
to  many  of  you  new  and  strange.  In  the  name  of  the  American 
branch  of  the  Alliance,  I  extend  to  you  again  this  morning  a 
cordial  welcome  to  our  shores,  our  homes,  and  our  hearts.  We 
trust  the  separation  from  beloved  friends  and  from  pressing  duties 
—  with  all  the  toils  and  perils  of  travel  —  may  find  some  compen- 
sation in  the  joys  of  a  Christian  fellowship  that  only  such  an  occa- 
sion can  afford,  and  in  the  new  and  riper  views  of  Christian  obliga- 
tion and  privilege  which  such  discussions  as  are  now  before  us 
promise  to  unfold. 

To  those  who  have  crossed  the  ocean  for  the  first  time  there 
will  also  be  an  opportunity  to  become  more  intimately  and  person- 
ally acquainted  with  the  life  and  features  of  this  new  world.  You 
will  find  here  vast  numbers  from  your  own  lands  who  have  come 
to  adopt  this  as  a  home  for  themselves  and  their  children ;  you 
will  learn  something  of  the  form  of  civil  government  which  dis- 
tinguishes this  from  other  countries ;  you  will  notice  the  various 
religious  organizations  seeking  no  support  from  the  State,  but 
only  demanding  protection  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  religious  lib- 
erty. You  will  perhaps  be  astonished  at  the  growth  and  prosperity 
which  have  been  attained  in  so  short  a  time.  The  population  of 
this  city  in  which  we  are  convened  has,  within  the  life  of  men  now 
upon  this  floor,  grown  from  seventy  thousand  to  nearly  a  million, 
while  the  United  States  has  increased  from  six  to  forty  millions. 

Americans  who  travel  abroad  gaze  with  interest  upon  the  growth 
of  centuries,  —  ancient  cathedrals,  castles,  and  cities  of  historic 
fame  ;  here,  we  can  only  point  you  to  what  has  been  accomplished 
chiefly  during  a  single  century.  We  hope  many  of  you  may  visit 
our  Western  States,  cross  the  great  inland  seas,  and  witness  for 
yourselves  the  marvellous  changes  in  progress  there. 

We  meet  as  Christian  brethren ;  and  laying  aside  for  the  time 

16 


242  THE   EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE. 

distinctions  which  separate  us  into  sects  and  parties,  we  rejoice 
to  greet  each  other  as  children  of  a  Common  Father  assembled 
to  deliberate  upon  the  mighty  concerns  of  his  kingdom,  and  to 
consider  how  we  can  best  promote  the  great  principles  that  bind 
us  and  all  true  believers  together.  The  topics  to  be  discussed  are 
most  timely  and  important,  and  we  trust  the  conclusions  reached 
will  fully  vindicate  the  wisdom  of  convening  such  a  body  of  men. 
Permit  me  to  remind  you  that  the  summoning  of  this  Conference, 
composed  of  representatives  from  almost  every  land,  and  wellnigh 
every  department  of  Christian  thought  and  activity,  has  awakened 
wide  interest  in  our  own  country,  and,  I  doubt  not,  in  other 
lands. 

The  eyes  of  God  and  of  men  are  watching  us.  Let  us  enter 
upon  our  duties  with  a  deep  sense  of  our  entire  dependence  upon 
that  wisdom  which  is  from  above,  and  with  earnest  prayer  that  the 
Divine  Spirit  will  guide  all  our  deliberations.  Animated  with  such 
feelings  and  blessed  with  such  aid,  it  cannot  be  that  we  shall 
separate  without  carrying  away  thoughts  and  purposes  that  shall 
redound  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  our  fellow-men. 
Years  hence  it  may  be  one  of  the  happiest  memories  we  shall 
cherish,  that  we  were  permitted  to  have  even  a  humble  part  in  the 
proceedings  and  decisions  of  this  Sixth  General  Conference  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance.  May  it  do  much  towards  preparing  the  way 
for  the  relief  of  those  still  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  in 
various  portions  of  the  globe ;  may  it  give  an  impulse  to  the 
growth  of  religious  liberty  everywhere ;  and  may  it  bind  together 
Christians  of  every  name  more  closely,  and  help  also  to  strengthen 
the  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  arbitration  in  the  settlement 
of  international  difficulties,  and  lift  up  among  all  people  a  victori- 
ous standard  in  the  face  of  modern  scepticism,  rationalism,  the 
claims  of  the  papacy,  and  every  other  false  system. 

Let  me  add  that  such  arrangements  as  were  in  our  power 
have  been  made  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  delegates 
during  their  stay  among  us  ;  and  again  giving  you  a  hearty  welcome 
in  the  name  of  the  American  branch  of  the  Alliance,  I  will  request 
the  Conference  to  proceed  at  once  to  a  formal  organization. 

The  Conference  continued  ten  days,  with  crowded  audi- 
ences at  every  session,  overflow-meetings  being  more  than 


THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE.  243 

once  necessary.  Papers  were  read  on  "  almost  every  im- 
portant theological,  religious,  and  moral  question  of  the 
age."  Among  other  friends  Mr.  Dodge  entertained  as 
guests  during  the  continuance  of  the  Convention,  Sir 
Charles  Reed,  M.P.,  the  Rev.  John  Stoughton,  D.D.,  and 
the  Rev.  J.  C.  Harrison,  D.D.,  of  London,  and  on  one  of 
the  evenings  gave,  at  his  residence,  a  general  reception 
to  the  Alliance,  —  nearly  eight  hundred  being  present. 
The  "New  York  Evangelist"  of  Oct.  23,  1873,  speaking  of 
this  social  gathering,  says :  — 

"  Mr.  Dodge's  large  mansion  on  Murray  Hill  was  thrown  open, 
and  saw  such  a  collection  of  distinguished  strangers  as  were  per- 
haps never  gathered  under  one  roof  in  this  city  before.  There 
were  not  only  Americans  and  Englishmen,  Scotchmen  and  Irish- 
men, but  French  and  Germans,  Swiss  and  Dutch,  and  representa- 
tives from  Spain  and  Italy,  from  Russia  and  Greece  and  Turkey, 
Egypt  and  India,  '  Parthians  and  Medes  and  Elamites,'  men  of 
different  races  and  languages,  but  all  united  in  a  common  love  to 
the  same  Lord.  It  was  an  evening  not  to  be  forgotten ;  and  the 
social  enjoyment  gave  place  to  a  feeling  of  still  deeper  interest 
when  the  venerable  Dr.  Cox,  who  had  been  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Evangelical  Alliance  twenty-seven  years  before,  spoke  a  few 
words  out  of  a  heart  full  of  stirring  memories  and  of  glorious  hopes 
for  the  future  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world,  and  Dr.  'Harrison, 
of  London,  closed  with  a  prayer  of  such  tenderness  and  sweetness 
as  made  all  feel  that  they  were  united  by  a  stronger  tie  than  that 
of  country  or  kindred,  —  by  the  same  precious  faith  and  the  same 
immortal  hope.  It  was  this  beautiful  Christian  spirit,  pervading 
alike  the  public  meetings  of  the  Alliance  and  these  less  formal 
gatherings,  that  made  them  so  delightful." 

The  Hon.  John  Jay  was  Mr.  Dodge's  immediate  suc- 
cessor as  president  of  the  American  branch  of  the  Alli- 
ance, and  in  1885  Mr.  Dodge's  eldest  son,  Mr.  William  E. 
Dodge,  Jr.,  was  elected  to  the  office. 

Efforts  to  quicken  religious  life  in  the  city,  or  to 
carry  the  Gospel  to  its  degraded  masses,  always  elicited 


244  THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE. 

Mr.  Dodge's  prompt  co-operation.  He  was  active  in  the 
meetings  established,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Evangelical 
Alliance,  during  the  week  of  prayer.  He  was  one  of  the 
early  promoters  of  the  Fulton  Street  prayer-meeting, 
occasionally  leading  its  daily  service,  or  speaking  at  its 
anniversaries.  He  aided  in  the  support  of  the  evangelistic 
meetings  at  Cooper  Union,  and  from  its  beginning  was  a 
firm  friend  of  Jerry  McCauley's  mission.  He  often  at- 
tended the  gatherings  of  once  drunken  and  dissolute  sailors 
and  other  outcasts  in  Water  Street,  and  assisted  in  open- 
ing the  later  work  at  Cremorne  Garden,  in  Thirty-second 
Street,  among  a  different,  but  equally  abandoned  class. 
He  left  a  legacy  of  five  thousand  dollars  to  this  mission. 
His  sympathy  also  for  those  without  Gospel  privileges  in 
the  distant  States  and  Territories  led  him  not  only  to  make 
liberal  contributions  to  the  work  of  the  Home  Mission 
Boards,  but  also  frequently  to  pay  the  salary  of  one  or 
more  missionaries  for  service  in  special  localities,  under 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church ; 
and  in  his  will  he  provided  for  annual  payments  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  this  Board  for  a  period  of  five  years. 
His  interest  in  the  education  of  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry was  largely  in  view  of  the  vast  and  increasing  demand 
for  trained  and  devoted  preachers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  new 
sections  of  the  country  so  rapidly  opening  for  settlement. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

AIDING   STUDENTS    FOR   THE   MINISTRY. 

MR.  DODGE'S  father  always  manifested  a  warm 
interest  in  young  men  studying  for  the  ministry, 
and  Mr.  Dodge  himself  once  cherished  the  hope  that  the 
way  might  be  opened  for  him  to  become  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel.  These  early  impulses  and  influences  may  have 
had  some  part  in  developing  that  zeal  for  preparing  others 
for  the  office  —  always  peculiarly  sacred  to  him  —  which 
became  so  marked  a  feature  of  his  life.  He  not  merely 
held  to  the  Scriptural  provision  for  an  order  of  the  min- 
istry, he  believed  profoundly  that  the  world  was  to  be 
saved  by  the  preaching  of  the  word ;  and  as  his  connection 
with  missions  revealed  to  him  more  and  more  clearly  the 
vision  of  a  world  lying  in  wickedness,  and  his  operations 
as  a  merchant,  and  his  wide  railway  interests,  made  him 
increasingly  acquainted  with  the  wants  of  his  own  country, 
the  desire  to  promote  distinctly  Christian  education,  and 
to  add  largely  to  the  number  of  well-equipped  and  con- 
secrated ministers,  became  almost  a  passion  ;  certainly 
it  was  always  in  his  mind,  and  had  a  chief  place  in  his 
benefactions. 

He  never  enjoyed  personally  the  advantages  of  a  liberal 
education,  as  he  left  school  at  the  age  of  twelve ;  but  he 
had  the  constant  advice  of  a  father  who,  in  his  earlier  days, 
had  been  an  enthusiastic  and  successful  teacher,  and  Mr. 
Dodge  when  a  young  man,  by  careful  use  of  time,  espe- 
cially in  the  evenings,  accomplished  an  unusual  amount  of 
solid  reading  in  general  literature,  particularly  in  history, 


246  AIDING   STUDENTS   FOR   THE   MINISTRY. 

biography,  travels,  and  theology.  Throughout  life  he  was 
a  rapid  and  eager  reader  of  newspapers,  journals,  and 
magazines,  and  of  books  bearing  upon  mercantile,  philan- 
thropic, and  religious  topics.  He  had,  moreover,  the  intel- 
lectual training  which  comes  from  daily  and  sharp  contact 
with  other  minds  in  the  competition  of  trade,  and  from 
continual  grappling  with  large  and  intricate  problems  in 
the  lines  of  business  or  benevolence.  This  experience 
supplied  a  mental  culture  and  a  fund  of  knowledge  as 
effective  and  —  in  a  sense  —  as  ample  as  any  gained  from 
classical  studies  or  strictly  literary  pursuits. 

But  for  men  who  were  to  assume  the  solemn  responsi- 
bilities of  expounding  the  word  of  God  and  having  the 
care  of  souls,  Mr.  Dodge  desired  the  best  preparation  pos- 
sible; and  in  most  cases,  as  far  as  scholarly  equipment  is 
concerned,  this  was  unquestionably  to  be  furnished  by  the 
usual  academic  and  theological  courses. 

From  almost  the  beginning  of  his  business  life  he  be- 
came an  occasional  or  regular  contributor  to  a  somewhat 
extended  list  of  educational  societies  and  institutions,  the 
preference  being  usually  given  to  theological  seminaries  or 
to  scholarships  for  the  benefit  of  young  men  having  the 
ministry  in  view.  This  practice  continued  and  the  list 
expanded  until  the  close  of  life.  He  gave  to  many  institu- 
tions rather  than  to  one.  His  sympathies  were  too  wide, 
and  the  applications  too  numerous  and  worthy,  to  allow 
him  to  concentrate  his  attention  and  gifts  upon  a  single 
enterprise  of  this  character,  however  deserving;  and  in 
more  than  one  case  his  timely  aid  both  of  means  and  in- 
fluence carried  a  struggling  institution  beyond  the  dead 
point. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  subscribers,  in  1836,  to  found 
the  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York  city,  and 
he  lived  to  see  its  present  new  and  spacious  buildings  ris- 
ing on  Lenox  Hill.  He  loved  its  work;  its  successive 
officers  and  professors  were  his  personal  friends,  and  from 


AIDING   STUDENTS   FOR  THE   MINISTRY.  247 

1856  he  was  a  member  of  its  Board  of  Directors.  His 
aggregate  gifts  to  this  seminary  were  larger  than  to  any 
other  institution. 

In  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  he 
founded  several  scholarships,  and  united  with  Colonel 
E.  B.  Morgan  in  erecting  a  building  for  the  library  at 
a  cost  to  each  of  some  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The 
obituary  record  read  by  the  Rev.  W.  J.  Beecher  at  the 
meeting  of  the  alumni,  May,  1883,  contains  the  following 
reference  to  Mr.  Dodge :  — 

"  We  desire  to  put  on  record  here  a  few  heart-felt  words  of  love 
for  him  and  of  honor  for  his  memory.  The  names  of  Dodge, 
Willard,  and  Case  are  still  to  be  read  over  the  doorways  of  the  old 
Seminary  building,  and  in  the  Annual  Catalogues  of  Auburn,  from 
1 86 1  to  1874,  commemorating  the  munificence  of  these  men 
towards  the  Seminary  in  the  comparatively  early  days  previous  to 
1860.  The  name  of  Mr.  Dodge  on  the  Dodge  and  Morgan  library 
building,  and  the  pleasant,  genial-looking  portraits  of  these  two 
gentlemen,  facing  each  other  across  the  entrance  to  the  alumni 
alcove,  betoken  the  fact  that  Mr.  Dodge,  like  Mr.  Morgan,  never 
lost  his  generous  interest  in  us.  And  these  public  evidences  of  his 
kindness  might  easily  be  supplemented  by  the  testimony  of  a  large 
number  of  Auburn  alumni  whom  Mr.  Dodge  privately  helped 
and  encouraged,  both  personally  and  in  the  prosecution  of  their 
work. 

"  But  it  is  an  exceedingly  pleasant  thing  that  this  man,  like  many 
of  the  other  men  to  whom  the  Seminary  is  most  largely  indebted, 
compelled  us  to  think  of  him  less  as  the  benefactor,  whose  gifts 
to  Auburn  and  its  work  amounted  in  all  to  about  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  than  as  a  friend  who  cherished  towards  us  a  thoughtful 
and  kindly  regard.  Those  who  were  in  the  Seminary  in  1 863  and 
1864  have  not  forgotten  the  visit  he  made  to  the  students  when  he 
and  Dr.  Hall  came  over  to  the  chapel  together  from  Dr.  Hall's 
house  with  a  basket  full  of  copies  of  Dr.  Wayland's  little  book, 
'  The  Ministry  of  the  Gospel,"  then  just  published.  He  presented 
us  each  with  a  copy,  making  a  pleasant  practical  address  to  us  on 
the  importance  of  cultivating  our  voices,  and  of  a  good  manner  in 


248  AIDING  STUDENTS  FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 

reading  hymns  and  preaching  sermons.  The  illustrations  with 
which  he  accompanied  the  address  showed  that  he  himself  was 
a  man  of  no  mean  attainments  in  the  art  of  public  reading  and 
speaking. 

"  We  remember  him  also  at  the  dedication  of  the  library  build- 
ing and  on  other  less  public  occasions.  We  recall  the  interest  he 
manifested  in  the  affairs  of  the  Seminary,  both  in  general  and  in 
all  matters  of  detail.  We  recollect  the  earnestness  of  his  convic- 
tions as  to  the  desirableness  of  multiplying  well-qualified  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  and  the  confident  enthusiasm  with  which  he  looked 
forward  to  the  future  of  the  Church  and  her  ministry.  And  the 
more  we  knew  of  him,  the  more  he  won  our  esteem  and  love,  as 
he  won  that  of  other  men  everywhere." 

Mr.  Dodge  contributed  to  the  building  of  Reunion  Hall 
at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  N.  J.,  and  towards  the 
fund  for  the  president's  chair.  He  subscribed  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  for  the  erection  of  the  Yale  Theological  Semi- 
nary building  at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  gave  also  to 
other  departments  of  the  University.  He  endowed  the 
president's  chair  of  Williams  College,  Mass.,  by  a  dona- 
tion of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  aided  other  objects  of 
the  institution.  He  contributed  sixteen  thousand  dollars  to 
Lafayette  College,  at  Easton,  Pa.  He  established  scholar- 
ships at  Dartmouth  and  Hamilton  Colleges,  and  gave  to  the 
general  funds  of  Lane  Theological  Seminary  and  the  semi- 
naries at  Bangor,  Chicago,  and  California,  and  to  Amherst, 
Beloit,  Marietta,  Oberlin,  and  other  colleges,  as  well  as  to 
the  University  of  Virginia  and  a  number  of  institutions  in 
the  South. 

When  a  tornado  swept  over  Grinnell,  la.,  and  levelled 
the  buildings  of  the  college  there,  the  Hon.  J.  R.  Grinnell 
sought  the  aid  of  friends  in  New  York  and  elsewhere.  He 
says  of  Mr.  Dodge :  "  He  invited  me  to  his  beautiful 
home  on  the  Hudson,  and  supplemented  his  other  gifts, 
which  more  than  two  hundred  students  have  shared,  by  a 
donation  of  five  thousand  dollars  to  replace  our  ruined 


AIDING  STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY.  249 

walls."     Mr.  Dodge  also  secured  the  aid  of  others  for  the 
same  object. 

His  interest  in  Maryville  College,  East  Tennessee,  is 
thus  described  by  Prof.  T.  J.  Lamar,  in  a  letter  written 
soon  after  Mr.  Dodge's  death :  — 

"  I  first  met  Mr.  Dodge  seventeen  years  ago  at  Willard's  Hotel 
in  Washington,  and  asked  his  assistance  to  resuscitate  the  college, 
then  prostrate  from  the  effects  of  the  war.  He  could  give  me  but 
little  time,  but  gave  me  a  hundred  dollars.  After  reaching  home 
I  wrote  him  a  very  full  history  of  the  college ;  and  from  that  time 
he  became  interested  in  it  and  kept  up  and  enlarged  that  interest 
until  the  day  of  his  death.  During  these  seventeen  years  he  has 
given  on  our  annual  current  expenses  a  total  of  ten  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars,  thus  making  it  possible  for  us  to  revive  the  insti- 
tution and  prosecute  its  work  from  year  to  year.  I  cannot  express 
the  debt  of  gratitude  we  feel  and  owe  for  his  constant  help.  I  do 
not  see  how  we  could  have  gone  on  without  him.  In  1881  our 
Board  of  Trustees  resolved  to  attempt  to  raise  an  endowment  of 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  I  was  released  from  my  professor- 
ship and  appointed  to  undertake  this  task.  I  went  to  Mr.  Dodge 
and  told  him  my  business.  I  said  that  he  knew  the  history,  work, 
and  needs  of  the  college  and  its  prospects  of  usefulness,  and  that 
if  he  were  not  willing  to  lead  off  in  the  subscription  I  had  as  well 
go  back  home  at  once  ;  that  it  was  not  at  all  probable  I  could  find 
anybody  else  to  start  it,  for  no  man  in  New  York  or  in  the  East 
knew  Maryville  College  as  he  did.  His  response  to  this  was  the 
following  subscription  :  — 

"NEW  YORK,  Jan.  24,  1881. 

"Having  been  for  the  past  fifteen  years  contributing  to  the 
annual  expenses  of  Maryville  College,  and  having  watched  with 
deep  interest  the  self-denying  efforts  and  success  of  its  teachers, 
and  being  convinced  that  the  time  has  come  when  it  should  have 
a  permanent  enlargement,  I  hereby  subscribe  the  sum  opposite  my 
name  (twenty-five  thousand  dollars),  provided  that  during  the  year 
the  amount  is  made  up  to  a  hundred  thousand. 

"  After  my  expression  of  thanks  for  the  generous  subscription, 
he  remarked  with  a  good  deal  of  emotion,  '  I  hope  what  I  have 


250  AIDING   STUDENTS   FOR  THE   MINISTRY. 

said  and  done  will  help  you  with  others.'  I  at  once  copied  the 
subscription  and  sent  it  to  two  others  who  had  of  late  years  been 
helping  the  college,  and  each  one  gave  a  subscription  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars ;  and  five  thousand  dollars  more  were  obtained  in 
small  amounts  in  the  home-field.  When  the  time  was  about  to  ex- 
pire, he  extended  it,  and  then  renewed  it  still  further.  Like  hun- 
dreds of  others,  I  honor  the  name  and  cherish  the  memory  of  Mr. 
Dodge.  His  death  is  a  bereavement  not  only  to  our  Church  and 
country,  but  to  all  Christendom.  Since  the  tidings  came  I  have 
thought  much  of  his  long  life,  so  beautifully  rounded  out,  so  grand 
and  eloquent  with  good  deeds.  It  ought,  and  I  trust  will  be,  an 
inspiration  to  many  to  live  well  and  nobly  for  Christ  and  the  good 
of  the  world." 

The  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  were  subsequently  paid 
by  Mr.  Dodge's  executors. 

In  many  of  the  institutions  enumerated,  and  in  some 
others,  Mr.  Dodge  had  from  time  to  time  one  or  more  stu- 
dents whom  he  partially  or  wholly  supported,  —  all,  with 
but  few  exceptions,  preparing  for  the  ministry.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  annually  assisted  in  this  way  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  young  men,  and  at  no  period  for  thirty  or  forty 
years  was  he  without  at  least  several  such  beneficiaries. 
At  Auburn  Seminary  alone  he  had  at  one  time  nine  stu- 
dents. His  efforts  in  this  direction  demanded  much  thought 
and  a  large  amount  of  correspondence.  He  endeavored  to 
be  most  careful  in  making  selections.  Letters  and  testimo- 
nials from  teachers,  pastors,  and  friends  were  required,  and 
also  a  full  statement  from  the  applicant  himself,  giving  his 
reasons  for  desiring  to  enter  the  ministry.  He  particularly 
sought  to  ascertain  the  spiritual  qualifications  of  each  one, 
and  enough  of  his  history  to  determine  whether  he  pos- 
sessed the  solid  and  trustworthy  traits  and  had  passed 
through  the  religious  experience  that  promised  permanent 
usefulness.  During  their  course  of  study  Mr.  Dodge  ex- 
pected letters  and  reports  from  them  and  from  their  pro- 
fessors, showing  what  progress  was  being  made.  He  took 
a  personal  interest  in  each  student,  and  as  often  as  he  had 


AIDING  STUDENTS  FOR  THE  MINISTRY.  251 

time,  or  where  he  thought  it  especially  needed,  he  wrote 
letters  of  advice  and  encouragement 

It  was  Mr.  Dodge's  habit  also  to  send  occasionally  — 
and  he  at  times  extended  the  privilege  to  whole  classes  of 
a  theological  seminary  —  some  book  that  would  be  calcu- 
lated to  instruct  or  inspire  men  with  such  a  work  in  view. 
Among  these  volumes  were  "  The  Life  of  Finney,"  "  The 
Life  of  Chalmers,"  Pond's  "  Theology,"  Dr.  Schaff's  works, 
Bishop  Mcllvaine  on  "  Preaching,"  and  President  Way- 
land's  "  Letters  on  the  Ministry  of  the  Gospel."  He  at- 
tached to  the  fly-leaf  of  this  last  book  a  short  printed  letter 
of  counsel  to  theological  students.  It  indicates  some  of 
the  qualifications  he  deemed  essential :  — 

NEW  YORK,  September,  1863. 

MY  YOUNG  FRIEND,  —  In  presenting  you  with  a  copy  of  the 
letters  of  President  Wayland  on  the  "  Ministry  of  the  Gospel,"  let  me 
request  you  to  read  and  carefully  ponder  each  letter,  and  prayer- 
fully ask  yourself  if  you  have  properly  considered  the  importance 
of  the  work  you  have  undertaken.  I  have  felt  for  years  the  need 
of  just  such  a  book  as  this.  I  fear  that  many  enter  the  ministry 
who  have  little  idea  that  the  great  object  is  to  rescue  souls  from 
hell,  by  leading  them  to  Christ. 

Each  letter  is  full  of  valuable  suggestions ;  but  let  me  call  your 
especial  attention  to  the  sixth,  "  On  the  Manner  of  Preaching," 
each  part  of  which  I  commend  to  your  careful  consideration. 

I  might  suggest  that  while  I  approve  of  all  the  author  says  about 
extemporaneous  speaking,  yet  a  carefully  written  sermon  once  a 
week  might  be  best  for  a  few  years ;  but  if  you  would  reach  the  hearts 
of  your  hearers,  they  must  feel  that  yours  is  so  full  of  the  love  of 
Christ  that  you  can  tell  them  of  it  without  a  written  manuscript. 

For  many  years  I  have  made  the  subject  of  the  voice  and 
manner  of  public  speakers  one  of  especial  interest,  and  have  been 
pained  to  see  how  little  attention  has  been  given  to  it  in  our  theo- 
logical seminaries.  Many  of  our  students  come  out  good  scholars, 
can  write  well,  are  fervent  in  spirit,  and  are  anxious  to  be  useful. 
But  having  neglected  the  cultivation  of  the  voice  and  the  manner  of 
delivery,  they  enter  upon  their  work  sadly  deficient  in  grace  and  ease 


252  AIDING  STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 

of  action  and  in  well  developed,  clear  intonations  ;  and  for  lack  of 
these  they  never  attain  any  considerable  standing  as  preachers, 
and  much  of  what  they  have  acquired  avails  but  little,  for  want  of 
ability  to  present  it  with  attraction. 

When  a  youth,  I  resided  in  a  New  England  village  where  there 
was  no  place  for  evening  meetings  but  a  schoolroom,  in  which  we 
held  frequent  meetings  and  enjoyed  several  revivals.  At  times 
we  should  have,  perhaps,  a  Methodist  preacher  with  but  little  theo- 
logical education,  but  good  natural  talents  and  a  fine,  full,  clear 
voice,  who,  without  notes,  would  deliver  a  plain  Gospel  sermon 
fresh  from  the  heart,  and  secure  the  attention  of  all  present.  And 
I  was  often  ashamed  at  the  contrast  when  one  of  our  young  men 
from  New  Haven  or  Andover  would  come  along  to  preach,  and 
I  should  have  to  take  a  band-box  and  cover  it  with  a  towel,  and 
place  it  on  the  table  with  candles,  that  he  might  read  off  his  sermon, 
—  generally  to  a  sleepy  and  inattentive  audience. 

I  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of  every  man  who  is  preparing  to  deliver 
God's  message  to  dying  men  to  see  to  it  that  in  tone  and  manner 
it  be  done  in  the  best  way  to  secure  attention. 

A  person  intending  to  make  public  singing  a  profession  will 
study  for  years  to  cultivate  the  voice  to  give  it  strength  and  volume, 
so  that,  if  necessary,  he  can  interest  the  largest  audiences.  Let 
me  beg  of  you  to  consider  the  vast  importance  of  a  full,  clear, 
pleasant  voice,  properly  modulated,  and  without  any  unpleasant 
tone.  A  beautiful  piece  of  music,  performed  upon  a  harsh,  dis- 
cordant instrument,  loses  all  its  beauties. 

The  man  who  becomes  confined  to  his  notes  can  never  make 
an  attractive  speaker.  The  times  demand  an  easy,  off-hand  style 
of  address. 

Don't  wait  until  you  can  enter  the  pulpit  before  you  learn  to 
speak,  but  in  the  prayer-meeting  and  Sunday-school  acquire  an 
easy,  familiar  style  of  public  address.  If  you  would  give  the 
trumpet  a  certain  sound,  you  must  learn  to  use  it. 

May  God  bless  you  and  prepare  you  for  turning  many  to 
righteousness,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of 

Your  friend,  WILLIAM  E.  DODGE. 

At  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Yale  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  in  1869,  Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of  the 


AIDING  STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY.  253 

speakers ;  and  his  remarks  point  out  some  of  the  reasons 
which  led  him  to  feel  so  strongly  the  need  of  increasing 
the  ranks  of  the  ministry,  and  also  one  of  the  practical 
causes  which  in  his  opinion  accounted  for  the  comparatively 
small  number  presenting  themselves  for  this  work :  — 

"  It  affords  me  very  great  pleasure,  sir,  to  be  able  to-day  to 
mingle  my  congratulations  with  those  of  the  friends  of  the  theo- 
logical department  of  Yale  College,  and  to  say  a  few  words  on  this 
occasion.  It  has  been  my  fortune  as  a  business  man  to  become 
conversant  with  all  the  main  railroads  built  towards  the  Great  West, 
and  other  of  the  great  public  works  of  this  country.  Undoubtedly 
our  land  has  been  settled  a  half  century  in  advance  of  what  it 
otherwise  could  have  been  but  for  the  agency  of  our  railroads. 
Along  these  lines  of  railroads  capitalists  have  not  been  slow  in 
building  cities,  towns,  and  villages  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  tide 
of  emigration  sure  to  fellow  the  iron  rail.  The  founders  of  these 
villages  and  cities  may  not  have  founded  them  with  religious  inten- 
tions or  designs,  but  they  must  erect  the  house  and  the  workshop, 
and  the  pastor  must  follow  them  and  be  with  the  van.  The  con- 
sequence is,  there  never  was  a  time  when  there  was  such  a  demand 
for  Gospel  teachers ;  and  it  is  sad  to  see  to-day,  by  looking  at  the 
catalogues  of  our  theological  seminaries,  that  the  number  of  yearly 
graduates  is  not  more  than  adequate  to  supply  the  yearly  waste 
from  natural  causes.  The  minds  of  people  who  have  travelled 
West  are  racked  with  anxiety  on  this  point.  They  have  asked 
themselves  how  is  this  want  to  be  supplied ;  and  the  answer  is,  only 
by  establishing  such  institutions  as  this  one,  on  behalf  of  which  we 
are  now  assembled.  On  one  line  of  railroad,  about  four  hundred 
miles  in  length,  in  which  I  am  interested,  there  have  been  estab- 
lished sixty  villages  and  towns,  numbering  five  hundred,  one  thou- 
sand, and  one  of  them  seven  thousand  inhabitants.  They  all  want 
able,  active,  working  ministers  to  come  among  them  and  lay  the 
foundations  of  what  are  to  be  the  future  cities  and  towns  of  the 
West.  But  where  are  they  to  find  them  ? 

"  Yet  there  are  more  young  men  pursuing  classical  studies  than 
ever  before.  Why  is  it,  then,  that  so  many  of  them  turn  away 
from  what  Mr.  Beecher  has  just  described  as  '  the  most  noble  em- 
ployment of  the  human  mind  '  ?  Why  is  it  they  are  looking  in  all 


254  AIDING  STUDENTS  FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 

directions,  and  leaving  this  work  behind?  There  may,  HO  doubt, 
be  found  a  reason  in  the  fact  that  all  over  the  country  is  seen  a 
want  of  earnest  prayer  upon  the  part  of  parents,  and  there  are  now 
stronger  attractions  outside  of  the  ministry  than  ever  before.  But 
there  are  other  reasons ;  and  young  men  are  to  a  certain  extent 
responsible  for  this  neglect.  Yet  part  of  the  blame  must  rest  on 
the  churches.  A  young  man  is  asking  God,  '  What  wilt  thou  have 
me  do  that  I  may  be  of  most  use  to  my  fellow-men  ? '  As  he  looks 
at  the  influences,  the  responsibilities  of  the  Christian  ministry,  he 
finds  that,  outside  of  our  large  cities  and  towns,  talent  devoted  to 
the  ministry  and  ripened  by  years  of  culture  is  not  appreciated. 
He  knows  that  young  men  can  come  from  the  country  and  go  into 
a  counting-room  and  receive  $1,500  or  $2,000  a  year,  and  the 
clergyman  must  be  content  with  a  salary  of  $600,  $800,  or  $1,000 ; 
and  he  asks,  '  Am  I  called  upon  to  make  this  sacrifice  ? '  He  may 
look  at  our  home  mission  work,  at  our  foreign  missions,  and  say : 
'  I  am  willing  to  sacrifice  my  time  and  risk  my  health  in  those 
fields ;  but  am  I  called  upon  to  make  the  sacrifice  of  going  to  a 
town  surrounded  by  men  of  property,  men  who  live  at  an  expense 
of  thousands  annually,  and  yet  who  are  willing  to  give  me  but  a 
thousand  a  year,  and  expect  me  to  entertain  every  minister  who 
may  happen  to  come  through  the  place  ?  My  wife,  perchance  (if  I 
am  called  to  a  small  village),  will  have  to  carry  her  child  in  her 
arms  while  preparing  victuals  and  setting  the  table  for  meals,  because 
she  cannot  afford  the  wages  of  a  servant.' 

"  Sir,  the  miners  of  a  district  in  Pennsylvania  who  struck  for 
wages  and  stood  out  for  four  long  months,  were  receiving  at  the 
time  $4  a  day,  which  amounts  to  $900  a  year  for  the  working 
days ;  and  that  is  more  than  a  minister  is  expected  to  live  on  in 
New  England.  I  was  in  conversation  with  a  minister  recently  who 
had  met  with  these  troubles  of  which  I  speak,  and  was  then  strug- 
gling to  send  his  oldest  boy  to  this  institution.  I  do  not  say  this, 
my  young  friends  [turning  to  the  students],  to  deter  you  from  the 
great  work.  But  I  say  that  the  churches  are  to  blame  in  this  matter. 
Ask  yourselves  if  this  is  not  one  of  the  reasons  why  young  men  are 
taking  themselves  to  other  professions. 

"  Young  men  !  there  is  a  nation  being  bom  in  the  West.  Thou- 
sands not  only  of  our  own  countrymen  are  immigrating,  but  they 
are  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  world ;  and  unless  there  is  an 


AIDING   STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY.  255 

influence  exerted  over  them,  we  may  tremble  rather  than  be  proud 
at  the  rapidity  with  which  the  empire  of  the  West  is  growing.  You 
may  stay  the  floodgates  of  infidelity,  and  raise  a  community  there 
that  shall  bless  this  growing  nation." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  so  oppressed  with  the  vast  spiritual  need 
of  the  West,  and  so  convinced  that  the  ordinary  methods 
could  never  supply  the  number  and  stamp  of  ministers 
demanded,  that  he  urged  the  selection  and  more  rapid 
preparation  of  men  specially  adapted  to  endure  hardships 
and  deliver  a  simple,  direct  Gospel  message.  He  held  that 
in  many  churches  there  could  be  found  young  men,  some- 
what older  than  those  usually  seen  in  colleges  and  semi- 
naries, but  who  had  received  a  good  common-school  or 
high-school  education,  and  had  then  entered  upon  a  busi- 
ness life,  —  men  of  vigorous  minds  and  consecrated  spirit, 
active  in  the  Sabbath-school  and  church,  and  enjoying 
the  confidence  of  their  fellow-members  and  of  the  com- 
munity. Such  men  he  believed  possessed  already  some 
of  the  personal  gifts  and  practical  training  that  fitted  them 
to  be  most  useful  in  building  up  churches  and  exerting  a 
strong  religious  influence  in  new  communities.  He  thought 
that  men  of  this  type  could  dispense  with  the  full  college 
course,  and  the  long  time  usually  given  in  theological 
seminaries  to  Hebrew  and  Greek.  Let  them  confine  them- 
selves to  the  exegetical  study  of  the  Scriptures  in  Eng- 
lish, to  dogmatic  theology,  Church  history,  the  preparation 
of  sermons,  and  other  important  branches,  and  be  ready  in 
perhaps  two  or  three  years  to  enter  upon  active  duty  in 
the  distant  States  and  Territories. 

Mr.  Dodge  had  no  desire  to  disparage  scholarship  in  the 
pulpit,  nor  in  ordinary  cases  to  encourage  any  abridgment 
of  full  and  exact  classical  and  theological  study ;  but  he 
wanted  a  body  of  picked  men  for  special  service.  What 
they  might  lack  in  scholastic  culture  would  find  compen- 
sation in  wider  experience,  closer  sympathy  with  all  classes, 
and  more  intense  zeal.  His  own  letters  give  frequent 


256  AIDING  STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 

expression  to  his  views  on  this  subject.     In  March,  1862, 
he  writes  :  — 

"  My  plan  is  outside  of  a  general  course,  and  is  intended  to 
meet  the  wants  of  many  parts  of  our  country  where  a  regular  and 
thoroughly  educated  ministry  cannot  be  supported.  I  wish  to  aid 
by  a  short  course  men  from  twenty-one  to  thirty,  of  more  than 
ordinary  talent  and  approved  piety,  who  with  a  good  common 
education  have  learned  to  take  the  lead  in  Sabbath -schools  and 
prayer-meetings,  and  are,  in  fact,  the  right  arms  of  the  pastors. 
Such  young  men  often  long  for  the  ministry,  but  feel  they  are 
too  old  to  commence  studying  for  it.  I  would  give  them  two  or 
three  years  of  training,  and  then  send  them  out  to  increase  their 
stock  as  they  go,  —  good  practical,  common-sense  men,  who  will 
be  a  blessing  to  many  a  young  church  in  the  more  sparsely  settled 
regions.  I  think  a  pretty  well  educated  Methodist  preacher  a  very 
useful  man ;  and  I  have  had  considerable  experience  in  that  direc- 
tion, as  I  attended  their  preaching  half  of  each  Sunday  for  several 
years  when  I  was  young." 

An  application  for  aid  to  a  student  brought  this  reply  : 

"  I  am  interested  in  what  you  say  of  the  young  man ;  but  such 
cases  do  not  come  under  my  plan.  I  am  trying  to  help  men 
somewhat  advanced  in  age,  and  who  have  not  in  many  instances 
had  a  collegiate  education.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  assist  those 
already  in  college  and  intending  to  go  into  the  ministry.  If  I 
should  take  such  cases,  I  might  have  half  the  young  men  now  pre- 
paring. I  desire  to  aid,  so  far  as  I  have  the  means,  men  from 
twenty-one  to  thirty  years  of  age,  who  have  had  a  good  English 
education,  and  who  in  the  churches  and  Sunday-schools  are 
known  as  the  active  working  members,  — '  apt  to  teach,'  ready  and 
acceptable  speakers,  such  as  pastors  are  willing  to  send  out  to  form 
a  new  school  or  conduct  the  prayer-meetings,  and  who  often  feel 
that  if  they  had  the  opportunity  they  would  be  glad  to  prepare 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  I  rejoice  to  see  young  men  in  greater 
numbers  giving  themselves  to  a  thorough  course  of  study;  but 
I  have  it  in  my  mind  to  help  those  who,  though  not  so  well  in- 
structed, have  more  knowledge  of  men,  are  educated  to  work, 
and  are  disposed  and  fitted  to  begin  preaching  after  a  few  years' 
preparation." 


AIDING   STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY.  257 

It  was  Mr.  Dodge's  hope  that  most  of  these  students 
would  find  their  field  of  labor  in  the  West;  but  he  required 
no  pledge,  and  did  not  attempt  to  dictate  in  regard  to 
their  future  course.  Sometimes,  however,  churches  in  the 
vicinity  of  a  theological  seminary  would  need  the  occa- 
sional services  of  students,  and  becoming  interested  in 
them,  would  on  their  graduation  invite  them  to  be  their 
permanent  pastors.  In  a  letter  to  one  of  his  students  who 
had  accepted  such  a  call  he  says :  — 

"  I  have  had  the  impression  that  many  of  the  churches  in  central 
New  York  were  reduced  in  numbers  by  immigration  West,  and 
were  now  feeble  and  inactive.  They  must  not  be  left  to  die ;  yet 
I  never  like  to  see  a  young  man  settle  down  over  one  of  these 
churches,  with  the  large,  old-fashioned  buildings  made  to  accom- 
modate six  or  eight  hundred,  and  now  not  half  filled.  The  effect 
is  apt  to  be  injurious,  and  to  make  a  young  man  himself  settle 
down  in  a  dull,  old-fashioned  way,  with  nothing  to  call  out  his 
energy.  It  has  been  rather  a  disappointment  to  me  that  so  many 
whom  I  have  aided  have  been  induced  to  locate  just  around  the 
Seminary.  I  have  fondly  anticipated  that  they  would  go  out  West 
into  some  of  the  new  settlements  and  grow  up  with  the  country  to 
mould  and  give  character  to  the  inhabitants.  There  is  something 
inspiring  in  seeing  a  village  start  from  the  beginning,  to  welcome 
each  new-comer,  to  help  build  the  neat  little  church,  and  to  feel 
you  know  all  the  families  settling  around  it.  There  are  many  such 
places  along  the  lines  of  our  Western  railroads.  If  you  read  the 
'  Home  Missionary  '  you  will  see  constant  calls  for  such  help.  It 
means  often  more  self-denial  and  hard  work,  and  often  less  pay, 
than  in  a  town  like  that  you  have  selected  ;  but  often  more  of  the 
life  of  religion  as  well  as  of  the  world.  I  have,  however,  no  wish 
to  give  direction  to  those  whom  I  trust  God  has  called  into  his 
service.  I  only  want  them  to  be  where  they  can  do  the  most  good." 

The  "New  York  Observer"  contained  (July,  1878)  the 
following  reference  to  the  character  and  work  of  one  of 
those  whom  Mr.  Dodge  aided :  — 

"A  few  weeks  since  a  new  occupant  was  seen  in  our  pulpit.  His 
burning  words  of  love  and  devotion  to  his  Master's  cause  kindled 


258  AIDING   STUDENTS   FOR  THE   MINISTRY. 

anew  the  flame  that  was  in  some  hearts  growing  dim,  his  zeal  in- 
spired us,  his  hopeful  spirit  cheered  us,  and  his  eloquence  won  the 
ear  of  those  who  were  not  in  sympathy  with  his  subject.  When 
the  service  was  over  a  stranger  remarked,  *  Do  these  people  know 
they  have  had  a  very  smart  young  man  in  their  pulpit  to-day  ? ' 
Of  course  we  knew  it ;  and  better  far,  we  knew  also  that  he  was  an 
earnest,  faithful  worker,  leading  many  souls  to  the  Saviour,  for  he 
was  one  of  our  own  village  boys,  and  we  had  watched  his  course 
with  no  little  satisfaction.  When  he  became  a  Christian  he  de- 
cided at  once  to  go  to  college ;  but,  like  many  other  successful 
laborers,  his  resources  were  limited,  and  he  was  obliged  himself  to 
create  means  for  defraying  his  expenses,  which  he  did  by  teaching, 
and  in  other  ways,  during  his  vacations. 

"  Just  before  the  close  of  his  course  at  Dartmouth  the  late  Presi- 
dent Smith  proposed  to  him  the  subject  of  entering  the  ministry, 
going  through  a  regular  theological  course  at  Andover;  but  the 
young  man  replied,  '  he  had  weighed  the  matter  carefully,  and 
felt  it  was  his  duty  to  go  into  some  other  profession ;  his  parents 
needed  his  assistance,  and  he  could  not  struggle  on  with  such  a 
debt  during  his  Seminary  life.'  But  the  President  was  persistent, 
and  finally  asked  him  if  he  would  consent  to  go  if  a  part  of  the 
means  could  be  provided,  adding  that  he  had  a  wealthy  friend  in 
New  York  who  had  always  been  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand 
in  such  a  case  as  this.  The  young  man  at  last  consented  to  go  ; 
and  the  result  was  that  after  a  thorough  course  at  Andover  he  was 
settled  immediately  in  a  flourishing  town  in  Massachusetts,  where 
his  labors  were  greatly  blessed.  Lately  he  has  been  called  to  a 
much  larger  field,  while  every  year  he  has  added  to  his  own 
spiritual  progress  as  well  as  to  the  number  of  those  who  owe 
their  conversion  to  his  faithful  ministrations.  The  consecutive 
circles  of  such  an  influence  reach  beyond  the  limits  of  mortal 
vision ;  eternity  will  show  their  extent  in  its  true  proportion. 

"  The  young  man  and  his  benefactor  have  never  met ;  but  some 
day  when  William  E.  Dodge  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  if  he  will 
ride  out  to  one  of  the  suburban  towns  and  spend  the  Sabbath,  he 
will  find  that  although  many  of  his  stocks  may  have  depreciated 
and  his  banks  proved  insolvent,  his  ships  may  have  gone  down  at 
sea  and  his  mines  failed  to  yield  up  their  treasures,  still  here  is  an 
'  investment '  that  is  not  only  sure  to  pay  good  interest,  but  whose 


AIDING  STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY.  259 

'  security '  will  be  unquestioned  when  the  books  are  opened  at 
the  '  great  day  of  accounts.'  " 

Among  the  letters  received  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Dodge  none  spoke  more  lovingly  and  gratefully  of  his 
memory  than  those  from  some  of  his  students.  One 
writes :  — 

"  I  was  about  to  give  up  all  hope  of  entering  the  ministry  of 
Christ,  for  wapt  of  means,  when  a  friend  sent  my  name  to  Mr. 
Dodge,  and  he  came  to  my  relief  and  aided  me  through  the  Au- 
burn Seminary.  The  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel  these  nine- 
teen years,  and  the  joy  I  have  had  in  guiding  souls  to  Jesus,  are 
due,  under  God,  largely  to  him." 

Another  says  :  — 

"  Sincere  grief  came  upon  the  hearts  of  my  wife  and  myself  when 
the  sad  intelligence  of  his  death  reached  our  frontier  home.  We 
owe  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  assistance  rendered  while  I  was  a 
member  of  Andover  Seminary.  I  was  married  and  poor.  He  gave 
me  a  hundred  dollars  for  each  of  those  years  of  struggling  student 
life.  His  only  condition  was  that  I  '  should  preach  Christ.'  This 
I  am  now  doing  in  a  home  missionary  field." 

Another  tells  also  of  help  opportunely  brought  to 
him:  — 

"  We  mourn  his  loss  as  a  friend  and  benefactor.  When  I  was 
near  the  close  of  my  second  year  as  principal  of  an  academy  in 
New  York  State,  a  letter  came  to  me  from  Mr.  Dodge,  offering  to 
place  nine  hundred  dollars  in  quarterly  instalments  to  my  account 
to  enable  me  to  prosecute  my  studies  for  the  ministry.  If  it  had 
fallen  from  the  skies  I  should  scarcely  have  been  more  surprised. 
No  doubt  my  sainted  pastor  had  something  to  do  with  it ;  but  I 
never  knew  certainly.  We  wept  for  joy,  for  it  was  the  first  sun- 
beam on  our  path  to  the  ministry ;  and  yet  I  hesitated  to  accept 
the  generous  gift,  lest  it  should  rob  me  of  my  boasted  indepen- 
dence, for  I  had  struggled  through  school  and  academy,  and,  with 
my  dear  wife,  through  Oberlin  College,  besides  aiding  two  sisters 
in  their  course,  and  all  without  financial  aid,  save  an  occasional 


260  AIDING  STUDENTS   FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 

loan  at  high  interest.  It  was  not,  therefore,  until  after  much  care- 
ful consideration  that  I  wrote  Mr.  Dodge,  accepting  his  kindness 
as  from  the  hand  of  God.  Before  the  course  was  completed  the 
nine  hundred  dollars  grew  to  twelve  hundred  and  fifty,  owing 
to  the  increased  cost  of  living  at  that  time  (1863).  Perhaps 
you  will  remember  a  visit  to  Auburn,  en  route  to  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  American  Board.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  Mr.  Dodge.  He  gave  every  student  in  the 
Seminary  five  dollars  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  trip  to  Rochester 
to  enable  them  to  attend  the  missionary  meetings.  They  will 
never  forget  it.  Were  my  own  dear  brother  still  living,  he  could 
tell,  as  he  often  did,  of  the  generous  aid  for  the  new  church  of 
which  he  was  pastor,  and  also  of  the  last  thousand  dollars  in 
payment  of  the  debt.  How  busy  Mr.  Dodge  must  have  been, 
and  yet  how  responsive  to  every  manifest  call  of  the  Master  ! 
His  memory  will  never  perish,  and  his  influence  will  extend  to 
generations." 

Still  another  adds,  on  the  day  before  the  funeral :  — 

"  Mr.  Dodge,  through  the  many  he  has  aided  into  the  ministry, 
will  preach  to-morrow,  while  his  voice  is  silent,  and  for  years  to 
come,  to  a  larger  congregation  than  any  other  one  man,  —  and  thus 
his  works  will  follow  him." 

Not  all  the  students  aided  by  Mr.  Dodge  were  Amer- 
icans. A  number  were  born  in  foreign  lands,  and  came  to 
this  country,  most  of  them,  as  children.  Nor  do  those 
already  referred  to,  include  a  considerable  body  of  preach- 
ers and  teachers  educated  in  missionary  fields.  As  will 
be  seen  elsewhere,  Mr.  Dodge  aided  in  the  establishment 
or  support  of  several  colleges  and  theological  seminaries 
in  different  parts  of  the  world.  He  contributed  likewise 
to  many  institutions  at  home  and  abroad,  exclusively  for 
girls. 

Mention  has  also  yet  to  be  made  of  the  educational  in- 
terests which  increasingly  occupied  his  attention  during 
the  later  years  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER     XVIII. 

WORK   IN   BEHALF  OF  THE   COLORED   RACE. 

MR.  DODGE  always  entertained  large  views  of  the 
future  of  Africa.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of  the 
Republic  of  Liberia,  and  for  twenty-two  years  served  as 
a  vice-president  of  the  American  Colonization  Society. 
With  so  many  others,  he  believed  that  Africa  was  the 
natural  and  the  best  home  of  the  colored  race,  and  that 
the  true  policy  was  to  encourage  emigration  there.  This 
would  prevent  complications,  perhaps  conflict,  in  the 
United  States,  and  would  open  a  new  and  desirable  field  of 
industry  and  independence  for  the  negro.  It  was  not  until 
after  the  war  that  Mr.  Dodge's  views  changed.  At  an 
anniversary  of  the  Colonization  Society,  held  before  peace 
was  declared,  but  subsequent  to  the  Act  of  Emancipation, 
Mr.  Dodge  made  the  principal  address.  It  was  when  the 
Liberia  College  had  just  been  established,  and  while  high 
expectations  prevailed  of  its  wide  usefulness.  Mr.  Dodge 
spoke  hopefully  of  the  project,  and  then  entered  upon  a 
consideration  of  the  general  condition  of  the  colored  race 
in  this  country :  — 

"  What  shall  be  done  for  the  colored  man,  is  now  the  chief  ques- 
tion of  the  day.  It  underlies  all  our  present  troubles ;  there  is  a 
universal  feeling  of  anxiety  that  some  place  may  be  provided  where 
the  black  man  can  go  and  be  elevated.  There  was  a  vast  amount 
of  sympathy,  effort,  and  prayer,  when  it  appeared  as  if  he  was 
beyond  our  reach  ;  but  now  God,  in  his  wonderful  providence,  has 
brought  hundreds  and  thousands  of  those  lately  in  bondage  into 
our  hands,  and  we  must  take  charge  of  them,  or  their  emancipa- 


262          WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

tion  will  be  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing.  Are  the  Northern 
States,  which  have  done  so  much  for  them,  now  ready  to  invite 
them  to  their  homes?  Does  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  or 
New  York  want  them  to  settle  within  their  limits?  Will  Indiana, 
Illinois,  or  Ohio  receive  them  ?  Let  the  laws  still  on  the  statute- 
books  of  many  of  these  States  answer.  A  few  years  ago,  a  pious 
and  benevolent  slaveholder  in  Kentucky  determined  to  provide 
for  all  his  servants  before  his  death  and  see  them  well  settled.  He 
went  into  one  of  the  thinly  settled  portions  of  Ohio  and  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land,  intending  to  divide  it  among  the  families  of 
his  slaves,  and  then  provide  each  with  a  comfortable  house  and 
home.  But  as  soon  as  his  object  became  known,  public  meetings 
were  called,  and  the  people  decided  they  would  have  no  negro 
settlements  in  their  vicinity ;  and  the  good  man  was  compelled  to 
abandon  his  plans. 

"  This  country  is  not  the  place  for  the  colored  man.  Do  all 
you  can  for  him,  and  he  will  still  feel  that  he  is  not  what  he  might 
become  under  other  circumstances.  It  will  be  a  forced  effort  to 
attempt  to  place  him  on  a  par  with  the  white  man.  I  am  more 
and  more  convinced  that  God  made  Africa  to  be  the  home  of  the 
negro  ;  and  of  late  our  attention  has  been  turned  to  that  continent 
as  never  before.  What  is  now  wanted  is  to  interest  the  free  col- 
ored men  in  looking  towards  Africa.  The  National  Government 
and  the  States  should  aid  the  emancipated  slaves  to  emigrate ;  and 
before  long  there  will  be  such  evidence  of  prosperity  that  we  shall 
induce  thousands  of  others  to  follow." 

Still  later  Mr.  Dodge  joined  in  proposing  the  establish- 
ment of  a  line  of  steamers  to  run  between  the  United 
States  and  Liberia,  to  encourage  emigration  and  trade. 

But  when,  in  the  period  immediately  following  the  war, 
the  magnitude  of  the  problem,  "  What  shall  be  done  with 
the  freedmen,"  began  to  be  fairly  encountered,  schemes 
that  looked  to  the  transportation  of  multitudes  to  Liberia 
were  so  manifestly  inadequate  —  even  if  possible,  and  for 
the  best  interests  of  a  people  just  thrown  upon  their  own 
resources  —  that  practical  men  turned  at  once  to  the  task 
of  helping  the  negro  just  where  his  new  condition  found 


WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.          263 

him.  Mr.  Dodge  stood  with  those  who  claimed  that 
Christian  education  was  the  first  and  comprehensive  need. 
He  promptly  began  to  aid  in  establishing  schools  and  in 
sending  colored  youth  to  institutions  already  in  existence 
at  the  North.  He  especially  desired  to  see  intelligent 
colored  preachers  and  teachers  provided.  He  had  in- 
deed already  become  interested  in  an  institution  distinctly 
founded  for  this  purpose.  It  was  then  known  as  Ashmun 
Institute,  but  afterwards  became  Lincoln  University.  It  is 
in  Chester  County,  Pa.,  some  forty  miles  from  Philadelphia, 
and  has  the  honor  of  being  the  "  pioneer  in  the  liberal 
education  of  colored  youth;  its  charter  dating  ten  years 
before  emancipation."  The  Rev.  Isaac  N.  Rendall,  D.D., 
president  of  this  institution,  writes,  Feb.  20,  1883:— 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  elected  a  trustee  in  1862.  At  that  time  the 
property  in  the  hands  of  the  Board  reached  a  value  of  about 
ten  thousand  dollars,  with  accommodations  for  sixteen  students. 
It  has  now,  in  endowments  and  buildings,  a  property  worth  nearly 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  there  are  two  hundred  and 
fourteen  students.  In  all  the  steps  of  this  development  Mr.  Dodge 
had  a  most  effective  part.  The  dark  days  of  the  civil  war  was  a 
notable  time  to  enter  upon  the  higher  education  of  the  negro.  But 
it  was  at  that  time,  when  the  good  design  was  necessarily  an  experi- 
ment, that  Mr.  Dodge  gave  to  this  work  the  encouragement  of  his 
name  and  the  help  of  his  counsel  and  of  his  gifts.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
John  M.  Dickey,  founder  of  the  institution,  told  me  that  the  first 
contribution  given  to  build  the  first  edifice  here  was  from  Anson 
G.  Phelps ;  and  from  that  time  the  largest  single  and  aggregate 
contributions  towards  the  enlargement  of  our  work  have  come  from 
the  members  of  that  household,  —  the  total  amount  being  not  less 
than  fifty  thousand  dollars ;  and  Mr.  Dodge's  direct  personal  influ- 
ence secured  from  others  as  much  more.  Of  his  own  gifts,  twenty 
thousand  dollars  founded  the  Chair  of  Sacred  Rhetoric,  three  thou- 
sand made  up  a  deficiency  for  the  Chair  of  I^atin,  and  a  large  part 
of  the  remainder  has  been  given  for  the  annual  support  of  students. 
It  is  noteworthy  in  our  experience  that  the  professorship  founded 
by  Mr.  Dodge  has  been  the  one  through  which  the  most  appre- 


264          WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

ciated  effects  of  our  system  of  education  have  been  produced.  The 
course  in  rhetoric  here  is  more  prominent  than  in  our  Northern 
colleges  for  white  students.  In  our  public  meetings,  held  in  New 
York  city  and  in  other  places,  it  has  been  as  practical  orators  that 
our  graduates  have  made  the  deepest  impression  upon  the  friends 
of  Christian  education.  Some  of  the  students  supported  by  Mr. 
Dodge  have  become  our  most  influential  representatives.  The 
work  he  promoted  here  was  an  expression  of  his  mature  judgment 
as  to  what  was  needed  among  the  freedmen,  and  of  the  sympathy 
he  cherished  for  them  in  their  needs.  In  advancing  this  work 
here  and  elsewhere,  he  was  self-denying,  generous,  and  indefati- 
gable. His  hope  of  lifting  up  the  degraded  to  Gospel  heights, 
rested  on  the  use  of  Gospel  means ;  and  hence  his  preference  to 
aid  in  training  ministers  and  Christian  teachers." 

For  the  purpose  of  calling  more  general  attention  to  the 
character  of  the  education  given  at  Lincoln,  Mr.  Dodge 
arranged  for  a  public  meeting  in  New  York,  December, 
1879,  which  was  addressed  by  four  graduates  of  the  Uni- 
versity, each  one  presenting  some  special  feature  of  the 
negro-question.  Three  of  the  speakers  were  among  the 
students  educated  by  Mr.  Dodge. 

In  an  editorial  notice  of  this  meeting,  the  Rev.  S.  Irenaeus 
Prime,  D.D.,  writes  in  the  " New  York  Observer:  "  — 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  this  city  four  young  men,  gradu- 
ates or  students  of  any  college,  who  would  make  four  speeches  of 
equal  merit  with  those  made  last  Thursday  night  in  Association 
Hall  by  four  representatives  of  Lincoln  University  for  colored 
men. 

"  The  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge,  a  Christian  philanthropist  of  the 
best  type,  has  long  taken  a  great  interest  in  this  University,  has 
given  largely  to  its  support,  and  now,  when  funds  are  required  to 
enlarge  its  usefulness,  he  would  demonstrate  to  the  public  its  abil- 
ity and  success.  To  this  end  he  invited  the  merchants,  the  clergy, 
and  the  public  to  come  together  and  hear  colored  young  men 
themselves  discuss  the  questions  growing  out  of  the  negro  situation 
in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Dodge  said  there  were  now  in  the  insti- 
tution a  hundred  and  thirty-four  students,  sixty-four  of  whom 


WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.          265 

were  candidates  for  the  ministry;  but  the  students  who  had  re- 
ceived its  benefits  were  scattered  all  over  the  continent,  many  of 
them  occupying  prominent  positions  as  lawyers,  physicians,  and 
ministers  of  religion. 

"  We  listened  to  addresses  from  Solomon  P.  Hood,  Joseph  C. 
Price,  the  Rev.  William  H.  Weaver,  and  the  Rev.  William  D.  John- 
son, colored  students  and  graduates  of  Lincoln  University,  each  of 
whom  took  up  some  important  phase  of  the  great  question  and 
discussed  it.  We  will  not  speak  of  them  separately,  for  where  all 
were  first-rate,  we  do  not  desire  to  make  distinctions.  We  do  not 
know  what  was  lacking  to  mark  each  and  all  of  them  as  remarkable 
exhibitions  of  talent  and  culture  in  the  arts  of  public  speaking  and 
composition.  Their  orations  were  for  the  most  part  written,  and 
committed  to  memory.  In  argument  and  illustration,  in  logical 
force,  in  brilliancy  of  imagination,  flashes  of  genuine  wit,  keen 
satire,  references  to  history,  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
these  four  addresses  were  worthy  of  any  class  of  educated  men 
from  any  college  in  the  world." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  gratified  to  receive  from  many  others  a 
cordial  indorsement  of  the  results  of  this  meeting.  The 
Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  wrote,  Jan.  21,  1880:  — 

"  Since  the  public  meeting  in  behalf  of  Lincoln  University,  I 
have  thought  much  on  the  value  of  that  institution.  All  present 
on  that  occasion  must  have  been  deeply  impressed  by  the  appear- 
ance and  addresses  of  those  colored  students.  Let  a  sufficient 
number  of  colored  men  be  as  well  educated  as  those  four  men 
have  been,  and  the  negro  problem  is  solved.  I  wish  you  all  suc- 
cess in  the  laudable  work  you  have  undertaken." 

The  Rev.  Marvin  R.  Vincent,  D.D.,  also  says:  — 

"  I  feel  personally  grateful  to  you  for  the  opportunity  of  hearing 
the  four  students  from  Lincoln  University  on  the  evening  of  De- 
cember 1 8.  The  occasion  gave  me,  as  I  think  it  did  many  others, 
a  deeper  impression  of  the  capabilities  of  the  colored  man,  and  a 
new  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  the  Church  for  his  proper  train- 
ing. The  addresses  of  the  four  young  men  were  well  thought  out, 


266          WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

clearly  and  tastefully  expressed,  without  as  much  florid  rhetoric  as 
may  be  heard  from  the  commencement  platform  of  any  American 
college ;  showing  a  clear  perception  of  the  nature  and  magnitude 
of  the  problem  with  which  they  dealt,  and  delivered  with  remark- 
able self-possession,  dignity,  and  emotional  energy. 

"  If  these  are  fair  specimens  of  the  material  which  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity turns  out,  I  can  only  say  that  it  has  a  substantial  claim  upon 
the  sympathy  and  liberality  of  every  one  who  is  interested  in  the 
elevation  of  the  negro." 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1879  for  the  same 
object,  Mr.  Dodge  made  the  following  remarks :  — 

"  It  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  connected  with  Lincoln  Univer- 
sity, as  one  of  its  trustees,  for  many  years,  and  I  have  watched  its 
progress  with  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction.  It  was  founded  for  the 
liberal  education  of  the  Freedmen.  I  believe  that  a  large  portion 
of  the  North,  that  took  such  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
poor  negro  when  he  was  a  slave,  felt  as  though  when  they  had 
knocked  off  his  shackles  and  elevated  him  to  the  position  of  a 
free  man,  they  had  nothing  more  to  do  but  to  thank  God  for  this 
wonderful  deliverance.  Yet  if  we  leave  him  in  his  ignorance,  I  am 
not  sure  that  we  have  done  anything  for  his  welfare. 

"  God  has  laid  upon  the  Christian  people  of  this  nation  a  fear- 
ful responsibility.  We  should  act  at  once.  This  is  a  thing  that 
will  not  wait.  These  black  boys  and  girls  are  growing  very  fast. 
Children  who  were  five  years  old  at  the  close  of  the  war  will  vote 
in  our  next  presidential  election.  Unless  they  are  educated,  they 
will  be  a  terrible  power  against  our  republican  and  Christian 
institutions. 

"  I  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  South.  I  am  there  every 
winter,  and  have  large  interests  in  that  section.  I  have  watched 
the  drift  of  events  since  the  war  with  intense  interest.  What  is 
wanted  there  now  is  that  in  every  large  city,  in  every  county,  there 
should  be  just  such  men  precisely  as  the  four  graduates  of  Lincoln 
University  who  addressed  the  public  meeting  in  Philadelphia  a 
few  weeks  ago.  You  ought  to  place  intelligent  men  like  them 
in  every  centre  of  influence,  and  those  are  the  men  we  want 
educated  at  Lincoln.  We  have  other  institutions  that  do  not  go 


WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.          267 

as  far  as  Lincoln.  They  are  educating  a  large  number  of  men, 
and  giving  them  a  good  plain  education,  and  are  sending  them 
out  to  teach  during  the  week  and  preach  on  the  Sabbath,  and  do 
what  they  can.  But  they  have  not  the  power  to  exert  such  an 
influence  as  the  graduates  of  Lincoln. 

"  Now,  what  wants  to  be  done  is  to  arouse  an  interest  through- 
out this  country  to  multiply  such  instrumentalities.  There  have 
been  very  large  gifts  to  our  classical  institutions,  and  it  would  be 
well  if  our  men  of  wealth  who  are  giving  to  colleges  could  realize 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  Princeton  for  colored  men  in  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity. I  believe  the  negro  is  capable  of  as  high  classical  develop- 
ment as  any  other  race  in  the  world.  Lincoln  University  has 
demonstrated  that  already. 

"  I  hope  that  we  shall,  as  individuals,  wake  up  to  a  realizing 
sense  of  our  responsibilities  and  obligations.  Here  is  an  institu- 
tion, as  Dr.  McCosh  says,  that  is  a  child  of  Princeton.  The  pro- 
fessors, with  one  exception,  are  all  graduates  of  Princeton ;  every 
one  of  them  we  know  and  can  trust.  We  ought  to  send  out  from 
that  institution,  of  such  men  as  we  have  already  sent,  not  less  than 
fifty,  and  after  a  little  a  class  of  a  hundred,  every  year.  There  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  not  have  a  thousand  students  there.  I 
believe  that  gentlemen  who  are  giving  to  institutions  of  learning, 
when  they  come  to  die  will  look  back  with  feelings  of  satisfaction 
that  they  have  left  a  scholarship,  or  the  endowment  of  a  professor- 
ship, for  the  education  of  colored  men  who  will  exert  such  influence 
upon  the  masses  —  the  five  millions  —  of  the  freedmen." 

Writing  to  a  friend  of  large  means  whom  he  hoped  to 
enlist  in  this  cause,  Mr.  Dodge  says :  — 

"  For  the  last  thirty  years  I  have  felt  it  my  duty  to  dispose  of 
my  estate  and  income  for  such  objects  as  I  could  see  progressing 
during  my  life,  and  among  other  efforts  I  have  been  permitted  to 
assist  some  hundred  and  fifty  young  men  in  their  education 
for  the  ministry ;  but  ever  since  the  emancipation  I  have  felt  that 
Providence  has  thrown  a  great  responsibility  upon  the  white  men 
of  wealth  to  see  to  it  that  the  five  millions  of  colored  people  should 
have  sufficient  education  to  make  them  competent  to  enjoy  and 
exercise  the  privileges  of  free  American  citizens.  In  order  to  effect 


268          WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

this  there  must  be  a  certain  percentage  of  the  young  men  educated 
to  become  leaders,  instructors,  and  ministers,  and  I  have  therefore 
devoted  a  portion  of  my  means  to  aid  in  sustaining  a  number 
of  institutions  for  the  higher  education  of  colored  young  men.  In 
this  way  I  have  assisted,  in  the  past  fifteen  years,  some  fifty  to 
seventy-five  colored  students,  several  of  whom  are  now  preaching 
with  great  credit  in  churches  in  the  large  cities  South,  and  I  am 
granted  the  special  pleasure  of  watching  their  work  and  influence. 
What  the  South  needs  is  that  out  of  a  hundred  students,  say, 
ten  per  cent  should  be  in  all  respects  as  thoroughly  educated  as 
the  best  white  ministers,  so  that  as  they  go  to  the  large  Southern 
cities  they  may  be  intellectually  as  well  trained  as  the  white 
pastors  there ;  then  we  want  perhaps  forty  per  cent  who  will  be 
able  to  fill  respectably  the  pulpits  of  the  smaller  towns ;  and  the 
remaining  fifty  per  cent  should  be  just  well  enough  educated  to  go 
among  the  common  plantation  hands,  and  during  the  week  teach 
the  children,  and  on  Sunday  hold  a  Bible  meeting  and  explain  the 
simple  rudiments  of  the  Gospel.  I  am  at  present  interested  in  four 
institutions  for  the  education  of  the  blacks,  —  Lincoln,  Hampton, 
Atlanta,  and  Howard,  in  all  of  which  I  have  students. 

"  I  can  assure  you,  from  my  own  experience  of  the  past  thirty 
years,  that  gifts  to  such  objects  in  one's  lifetime  are  a  constant  daily 
satisfaction.  I  have  been  permitted  during  these  years  to  give  to  the 
cause  of  Christian  education  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dol- 
lars, and  I  feel  it  has  been  better  than  to  leave  double  that  amount 
to  be  disposed  of  by  others  after  my  death.  The  pleasure  of  watch- 
ing the  success  of  these  different  institutions  is  very  great.  I  often 
think  of  dear  old  Father  Cooper  as  I  see  his  carriage  waiting  at  the 
Cooper  Institute  while  he  is  trying  to  discover  if  anything  more 
can  be  done  to  increase  the  usefulness  of  his  benevolent  work. 
I  am  sure  it  has  added  ten  years  to  his  life." 

Mr.  Dodge  followed  his  students  into  their  fields  of 
labor,  writing  or  seeing  them  from  time  to  time,  and  often 
aiding  some  special  feature  of  their  efforts.  His  death 
was  a  personal  bereavement  to  each  of  them. 

A  letter  from  the  Rev.  Solomon  P.  Hood,  who  has  a 
church,  a  school,  and  other  religious  work  at  Beaufort, 
S.  C.,  says :  — 


WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.    269 

"  I  see  now  as  never  before  that  Mr.  Dodge  knew  how  and 
where  any  young  colored  man  who  loves  his  Master's  cause  could 
make  the  most  of  himself;  for  he  always  used  to  say:  'Young 
man,  go  South,  and  labor  for  the  upbuilding  of  your  race.'" 

The  Rev.  J.  C.  Price,  president  of  Zion  Wesley  College, 
at  Salisbury,  N.  C.,  speaking  at  the  anniversary  of  the 
National  Temperance  Society,  June,  1884,  said:  — 

"  No  one  can  feel  as  I  do  in  regard  to  Mr.  Dodge.  I  believe 
that  I  stand  here  to-day  as  the  result  of  his  effort ;  for  I  was  his 
protege"  in  the  Lincoln  University,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  his 
liberality  and  Christian  generosity,  I  am  sure  that  I  should  not  be 
on  this  platform  to-night.  I  therefore  can  truly  indorse  the  words 
of  the  President  [Dr.  Hopkins]  when  he  said  that  Mr.  Dodge, 
though  dead,  yet  speaks,  not  only  through  the  work  of  this  Society, 
but  by  the  hundreds  of  young  men  and  women  scattered  all  over 
the  South  to-day  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  schoolroom,  in  the  medical 
chair,  and  wherever  they  have  to  do  something,  be  it  ever  so 
humble,  for  the  uplifting  of  a  long-degraded  people,  and  for  the 
bearing  forward  of  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  For 
Mr.  Dodge  was  not  only  interested  in  snapping  the  bonds  of 
intemperance  that  fettered  the  soul,  but  wherever  he  saw  a  de- 
graded one,  whether  that  degradation  came  from  intemperance  or 
ignorance,  it  found  his  helping  hand  and  his  sympathizing  heart. 
I  therefore  rejoice  in  being  here  to-night,  and  feel  glad  that  I  am 
interested  in  a  cause  in  which  he  was  especially  interested,  —  carry- 
ing out  the  purposes  he  had  in  view  when  he  bestowed  upon  me 
his  generous  assistance." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  ready  to  aid  in  the  establishment  of  Zion 
Wesley  College,  not  only  on  account  of  his  regard  for  its 
presiding  officer,  but  also  because  it  was  an  effort  on  the 
part  of  colored  men  to  found  an  institution  that  should  be 
wholly  under  their  own  control,  and  have  a  faculty  from 
their  own  number.  He  met  Mr.  Price  in  England,  —  where 
he  had  gone  to  solicit  funds,  —  and  introduced  him  to  in- 
fluential friends  there ;  afterwards  subscribing  himself  five 


270  WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

thousand  dollars  towards  the  erection  of  one  of  the  new 
buildings. 

The  Rev.  William  D.  Johnson,  D.D.,  who  was  aided  at 
Lincoln  University  for  several  years  by  Mr.  Dodge,  and  is 
now  Secretary  of  Education  of  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  delivered  a  long  and  interesting  ad- 
dress upon  the  character  and  services  of  his  patron  and 
friend,  at  a  large  memorial  meeting  held  in  Columbia, 
S.  C.,  April  25,  1883.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he 
said :  — 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  ray  benefactor ;  and  I  see  those  among  you  — 
my  classmates,  and  perhaps  others  —  who,  in  common  with  me, 
years  ago  at  Lincoln  University,  the  mother  of  your  own  Allen 
University,  learned  to  know  and  to  love  Mr.  Dodge  on  account  of 
his  magnanimous  interest  in  our  education.  A  good  man  is  the 
world's  treasure  ;  and  it  was  always  maintained  that  such  a  man,  of 
whatever  nationality,  was  a  citizen  of  the  world  and  the  common 
property  of  all  its  people.  He  whose  long  and  useful  life  was 
symbolized  at  New  York  in  the  sheaf  of  golden  wheat  laid  upon 
his  casket,  is  to-day  remembered  in  the  opening  buds  and  wild 
flowers  here  in  the  sunny  South ;  and  we  offer  them  as  a  tribute 
from  the  heart  of  his  colored  fellow-citizens,  who  stood  so  much  in 
need  of  the  recognition  he  so  freely  accorded  us  in  his  manly  words 
and  princely  benefactions." 

The  Rev.  William  H.  Morris,  also  one  of  those  who  had 
been  at  one  time  assisted  by  Mr.  Dodge,  and  now  a  pro- 
fessor of  Allen  University  at  Columbia,  read  a  poem  which 
he  had  prepared  for  the  occasion  as  a  tribute  of  affectionate 
regard. 

One  of  the  daily  papers  of  the  city,  "  The  Columbia 
Register,"  gave  a  full  account  of  this  rare  and  touching 
service.  A  portion  of  the  notice  is  quoted :  — 

"  No  stronger  testimony  could  be  afforded  to  the  influence 
which  has  been  exerted  by  the  Christian  philanthropist,  the  late 
William  E.  Dodge,  than  was  furnished  by  the  memorial  service  at 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  last  night.  It  was  meet 


WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.          2/1 

that  among  a  class  of  our  people  towards  whom  his  large  heart  had 
flowed  out  in  earnest  sympathy  and  acts  of  munificent  liberality, 
there  should  be  awakened  a  grateful  recognition  of  his  benefac- 
tions ;  and  the  meeting  last  night  showed  that  they  were  ready  to 
respond  to  the  sentiment  with  all  the  ardor  with  which  the  colored 
element  is  wont  to  show  its  appreciation  of  kindness. 

"  The  church  was  densely  packed  with  an  audience  numbering 
not  less  than  fifteen  hundred  persons,  who  exhibited  an  absorbed 
interest  in  the  services  from  first  to  last.  Bishop  Dickerson  pre- 
sided ;  and  on  the  platform  were  assembled  the  colored  clergy 
of  all  denominations  in  the  city.  A  double  quartet  of  male  and 
female  singers  occupied  the  left  of  the  platform,  and  furnished 
excellent  vocal  music,  with  the  organ  accompaniment. 

"  Among  the  resolutions,  offered  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Waters,  D.D., 
was  the  following  :  — 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we,  as  representatives  of  the  colored  citizens 
forming  an  integral  part  of  this  great  nation,  believe  we  express 
their  unuttered  sentiment  when  we  say  that  we  shall  ever  cherish 
in  our  inmost  hearts  the  memory  of  one  who  so  unselfishly  donated 
his  life  to  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  neglected  and 
the  unfortunate.' 

"  The  Rev.  William  H.  Morris  read  a  poetic  delineation  of  the 
character  and  labors  of  the  deceased,  which  contained  passages  of 
great  force  and  poetic  beauty. 

"  After  a  solo,  Bishop  Dickerson  briefly  spoke  of  the  distin- 
guished dead  as  the  '  ideal  man ; '  and  introduced  the  Rev.  W.  D. 
Johnson,  D.D.,  of  Marietta,  Ga.,  who  delivered  an  eloquent 
portrayal  of  the  features  which  had  so  eminently  distinguished 
William  E.  Dodge  as  a  benefactor  of  mankind. 

"  The  speaker  alluded  to  the  personal  obligations  under  which 
he  had  been  brought  to  Mr.  Dodge  by  his  munificence  to  Lincoln 
University,  at  which  himself,  Bishop  Dickerson,  Prof.  Morris,  and 
Dr.  J.  C.  Waters  were  educated.  His  charities  were  limited  by  no 
sectarian,  political,  or  race  distinctions,  but  reached  out  to  the  needy 
of  all  nations  and  all  creeds  with  an  ever-abounding  liberality. 

"  The  eulogy  occupied  over  an  hour,  and  the  services  closed 
with  a  quartet,  '  Go  to  thy  peaceful  rest ! '  and  the  benediction. 

"  Such  an  occasion  as  this,  giving  the  heartfelt  expression  of 
people  of  a  different  race,  a  different  denomination,  to  their 


2/2          WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

appreciation  of  the  character  of  one  of  Nature's  noblemen,  is  as 
honorable  to  those  who  paid  it  as  it  is  to  the  memory  of  the  subject 
of  their  eulogy." 

A  memorial  meeting  was  also  held  in  New  Orleans  in 
St.  James's  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at  which 
tributes  to  Mr.  Dodge's  services  were  delivered, .  and  a 
series  of  resolutions  adopted. 

General  S.  C.  Armstrong,  President  of  the  Hampton 
Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute,  writing  of  Mr.  Dodge's 
death  in  the  "  Southern  Workman,"  published  at  the 
school,  says :  — 

"  Hampton  was  one  among  the  many  side  interests  to  which  his 
generous  hand  gave  what  was  little  to  him  but  much  to  them, 
especially  as  it  was  coupled  with  what  he  gave  of  himself,  —  his 
warm  sympathy  and  joy  in  giving.  He  was  always  to  be  relied  on 
to  give  go  to  an  effort  to  rouse  public  interest  by  word  and  exam- 
ple. When  it  was  necessary  to  raise  the  funds  for  our  building  for 
Indian  girls,  and  a  meeting  was  held  in  New  York  at  which  some 
of  our  Indian  students  appeared,  Mr.  Dodge  was  first  on  his  feet 
with  a  subscription.  He  took  the  responsibility  of  the  first  room 
in  Winona  Lodge ;  and  half  of  what  was  raised  for  it  in  New  York 
was  given  by  him  and  his  immediate  family  connections,  who  share 
his  spirit.  He  has  carried  also  three  scholarships  at  Hampton, 
one  for  colored  and  two  for  Indian  students.  He  was  a  friend  to 
whom  we  with  many  others  could  look  for  moral  as  well  as  mate- 
rial aid." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of  the  friends  with  whom  Mr.  John 
F.  Slater  consulted  confidentially  before  setting  apart  his 
fund  of  one  million  of  dollars  for  the  education  of  freed- 
men,  and  especially  of  colored  teachers.  Mr.  Dodge 
became  an  incorporator  and  trustee  of  this  fund,  and  the 
board  of  trustees  was  first  organized  in  his  library.  His 
eldest  son  was  elected  to  succeed  him. 

It  was  a  cherished  expectation  of  Mr.  Dodge  that  the 
various  institutions  for  colored  people  would  not  only  be  a 
blessing  to  the  race  in  America,  but  would  prepare  men 


WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACK          2/3 

for  what  he  saw  to  be  "  the  wonderful  opening  in  Africa," 
Missionaries  from  among  the  educated  colored  people 
would  come  to  be  the  most  ardent  and  efficient  agents  for 
the  redemption  of  their  fatherland.  One  of  the  earliest  stu- 
dents on  his  list  was  a  young  man  of  unusual  promise,  who 
began  his  course  of  study  with  this  object  in  view,  but  died 
before  completing  his  theological  preparation.  Others  of 
his  students  are  now  presidents  or  professors  of  theologi- 
cal seminaries  or  colleges  that  will  ultimately  send  forth 
men  for  this  vast  missionary  enterprise,  which  Christians 
of  African  descent  can  probably  best  undertake,  and  for 
which  there  happily  already  exists  among  them  a  fixed 
purpose  and  a  growing  enthusiasm. 

A  few  days  before  his  death,  but  with  no  thought  of  the 
end  being  so  near,  Mr.  Dodge  said  to  a  friend :  — 

"  I  wish  to  devote  much  of  my  remaining  strength  and  a  large 
share  of  my  income  to  the  education  and  elevation  of  the  colored 
race.  I  expect  soon  to  go  South,  and  hope  to  visit  Lincoln, 
Hampton,  Howard,  Atlanta,  Biddle,  and  other  institutions.  I 
take  special  interest  in  the  working  out  of  the  objects  of  the 
Slater  fund." 

The  provisions  of  his  will  bear  testimony  to  his  deter- 
mination to  give  some  permanent  expression  to  the  inter- 
est he  felt  in  the  education  of  this  class.  He  not  only 
made  bequests  to  several  of  the  institutions,  —  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  to  Lincoln  University,  and  five  thousand  dol- 
lars each  to  Hampton,  Howard,  and  Atlanta,  to  constitute 
scholarships,  —  but  he  left  a  fund  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
"  the  income  to  be  applied  to  the  education  of  young  men 
for  the  Gospel  ministry,  and  thus,"  he  adds,  "  to  continue 
the  plan  which  I  have  carried  on  for  many  years."  He 
further  says :  — 

"  It  is  my  wish  that  any  thus  aided  shall  be  prepared  for  the 
ministry  according  to  the  denomination  to  which  they  belong. 

"  Having  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  furnish- 
ing, as  soon  as  possible,  men  of  their  own  race  to  preach  to  the 

18 


274         WORK  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

colored  people  of  the  South,  I  have  for  some  years  devoted  much 
of  my  education  fund  for  that  class,  giving  to  some  of  them  a 
more  thorough  course  of  instruction,  to  fit  them  for  the  larger 
places,  and  to  others  a  shorter  course,  to  help  them  reach  the 
more  ignorant  and  those  farther  removed  from  Gospel  privileges. 
I  would  suggest  to  my  executrix  and  executors  that  they  pursue 
the  same  course." 

In  closing  these  references  to  Mr.  Dodge's  educational 
efforts,  it  should  perhaps  be  remarked  that  of  all  the 
young  men,  white  or  black,  who  were  aided  by  his  gifts,  it 
is  not  known  that  more  than  three  or  four  ever  proved 
themselves  unworthy  of  his  confidence. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CHARACTERISTICS. 

THE  prominent  traits  of  Mr.  Dodge's  character  have 
perhaps  been  sufficiently  indicated  in  the  narrative 
already  given;  but  it  may  be  of  interest  to  make  some 
more  distinct  reference  to  the  qualities  which,  in  his  case, 
seemed  to  form  a  peculiarly  happy  combination  of  strength 
and  sweetness.  This  will  be  chiefly  done  by  recording 
the  testimony  of  personal  friends,  and  by  extracts  from 
articles  which  appeared  in  the  public  journals.  First, 
however,  brief  allusion  will  be  made  to  a  few  points  not 
so  fully  dwelt  upon  by  others. 

Mr.  Dodge  always  maintained  a  singularly  affectionate 
and  minute  interest  in  the  affairs  of  each  of  his  children. 
Anything  he  thought  could  minister  to  their  advantage 
when  young  was  unhesitatingly  provided.  As  they  grew 
up  and  began  to  assume  business  responsibilities  and  to 
have  families  of  their  own,  he  followed  each  step  with 
increasing  watchfulness,  generally  associating  them  with 
himself  in  some  of  his  own  enterprises,  and  never  withhold- 
ing any  personal  sacrifice,  of  exertion  or  means,  to  insure 
their  success.  But  however  much  he  might  do  for  their 
happiness  in  other  respects,  they  can  never  recall  a  time  in 
the  lives  of  any  of  them  when  it  was  not  transparently  evi- 
dent that  the  supreme  desire  of  their  father's  heart  was 
bent  upon  their  religious  welfare.  In  every  plan  he  made 
for  them,  in  all  his  frequent  and  loving  counsels,  in  the  or- 
dering of  the  family  life,  this  was  the  first  consideration. 


2/6  CHARACTERISTICS. 

The  happy  Sabbath  evenings  come  back  to  them  when 
he  was  accustomed  to  gather  the  children  about  him,  and 
make  the  Westminster  Catechism  simple  and  attractive  by 
his  explanations  and  anecdotes;  when  both  father  and 
mother  would  repeat  some  favorite  hymn,  and  the  boys  in 
turn  recite  theirs ;  then  all  join  in  singing  "  Loving-kind- 
ness," "  My  Faith  looks  up  to  Thee,"  "  The  Voice  of  Free 
Grace,"  "  Oh !  could  I  speak  the  Matchless  Worth,"  and 
always  to  the  old  familiar  tunes.  No  music  will  ever  seem 
sweeter :  the  father's  rich  bass,  the  mother's  clear  voice, 
and  each  boy  doing  as  well  as  he  could. 

These  hymns  of  Christian  faith  and  joy  were  all  dear  to 
Mr.  Dodge.  He  had  committed  to  memory  numbers  of 
them  as  a  child,  and  he  could  repeat  them  to  old  age  with 
accuracy  and  delight.  He  found  them  a  solace  when  dis- 
tracting thoughts  intruded  upon  his  sacred  hours,  or  when 
anxiety  or  business  cares  pressed  hard  upon  him.  Some- 
times he  said  them  over  to  himself  as  he  walked  the  streets 
or  rode  in  the  cars,  or  he  would  repeat  them  in  the  quiet 
of  a  Sunday  evening  as  he  sat  with  his  family  at  home  or 
in  the  midst  of  a  few  congenial  friends  with  whom  he 
might  be  travelling.  He  loved  sacred  poetry  of  every 
kind,  and  in  reading  or  repeating  it  he  endeavored  to 
bring  out  the  meaning  by  a  distinct  and  appropriate  ut- 
terance. In  some  instances,  when  he  met  with  hymns 
not  found  in  ordinary  books,  and  which  struck  him  as  un- 
usually impressive,  he  had  them  printed  as  leaflets  for 
private  distribution.  His  singing  at  religious  meetings  or 
in  church  had  a  heartiness  that  was  inspiring  and  con- 
tagious. It  was  his  habit  on  Sunday  evenings  also  to 
assemble  the  household  for  family  prayers  just  before  the 
hour  for  tea,  and  in  his  petitions  each  son,  beginning  from 
the  eldest,  would  be  specially  remembered,  with  his  wife 
and  children,  although  no  names  were  mentioned  ;  and  as 
soon  as  the  evening  meal  was  ended  he  would  retire  to  the 
room  where  he  was  accustomed  to  have  his  devotions. 


CHARACTERISTICS.  277 

When  he  returned,  his  tearful  eye  but  shining  face  would 
tell  something  of  the  communion  he  had  enjoyed. 

In  prayer  he  was  not  satisfied  with  mere  general  peti- 
tions. He  loved,  whenever  circumstances  would  allow,  to 
ask  in  distinct  terms  for  just  what  was  needed  at  the  par- 
ticular time ;  and  his  expressions,  while  simple  and  direct, 
always  breathed  the  spirit  of  humble,  entire,  and  glad 
submission  to  the  Divine  will. 

Among  his  papers  was  found  in  his  own  handwriting  a 
list  of  "  Things  to  pray  for  to-day  "  (some  time  in  April, 
1859).  His  wife  was  to  unite  with  him.  The  first  was 
"  For  ourselves,  that  we  may  be  sanctified  and  forgiven, 
and,  as  parents,  be  able  to  know  and  do  our  duty  to  our 
children." 

Then  followed  several  specific  requests  for  one  and 
another  of  his  sons,  closing  with  a  remembrance  for 
"  Special  direction  in  regard  to  a  change  of  church  re- 
lations," and  a  prayer  for  a  friend  whose  name  was  given. 
Scriptural  phrases  and  verses  were  blended  appropriately 
and  fervently  in  his  petitions.  A  prayer  which  he  had 
written,  apparently  for  some  Sabbath-school  occasion,  when 
the  subject  was  "  Heaven,  the  hope  of  the  child  of  God," 
will  recall  to  those  who  used  to  hear  him  at  religious  meet- 
ings, his  earnest  manner  and  words  when  he  prayed  in 
public,  — 

Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  bless 
thee  that  thou  didst  so  love  the  world  as  to  give  thy  Son  to  die. 
We  bless  thee  that  he  hath  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light,  and 
hath  passed  into  the  heavens  to  prepare  mansions  of  eternal  rest 
for  those  who  love  him.  We  thank  thee  that  amid  the  cares,  anxie- 
ties, and  trials  of  this  world,  those  who  have  been  washed  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  may  by  faith  look  forward  to  a  rest  of  eternal 
joy  at  thy  right  hand ;  and  though  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
nor  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  the  things 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  those  who  love  him,  yet  thou  hast  in 
thy  holy  word  given  us  some  faint  glimpses  of  the  golden  city  and 
of  its  myriads  of  happy  spirits  who  worship  and  praise  thee  with 


278  CHARACTERISTICS. 

uninterrupted  delight.  We  thank  thee  that,  having  this  hope  to  sus- 
tain us  even  here,  we  may  go  cheerfully  forward  in  the  path  of  duty, 
looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  who  for 
the  joy  set  before  him  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame, 
and  is  forever  set  down  on  his  heavenly  throne.  O  Lord,  sanctify 
our  hearts  by  thy  Holy  Spirit,  and  raise  our  affections  above  the 
world.  May  the  things  that  are  seen  and  temporal  never  be  per- 
mitted to  blind  our  eyes  so  that  we  cannot,  by  faith,  behold  the 
things  which  are  unseen  and  eternal.  Help  us  to  live  so  near  to 
thee  that  we  shall  have  no  doubt  of  our  reaching  the  mansions  of 
the  blest,  so  that  we  may  walk  by  faith,  having  our  conversation 
in  heaven,  whence  we  look  for  our  blessed  Saviour,  who  at  his 
coming  shall  change  our  vile  bodies,  making  them  like  unto  his 
glorious  body ;  that  when  he  shall  call  us  to  leave  this  earthly  habi- 
tation, we  may  with  joy  look  forward  to  a  building  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  And  having  this  hope  in  us,  may  we 
purify  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  God.  Help  us  to  live  ever  in  view  of  death, 
judgment,  and  eternity,  and  at  last,  washed  and  purified  in  the 
blood  of  Jesus,  may  we  pass  through  the  gates  into  the  city  to 
unite  in  the  everlasting  song  of  the  redeemed.  All  which  we 
ask  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son  and  our 
Saviour.  Amen. 

He  attached  the  utmost  importance  to  the  persistent 
and  sacred  reservation  of  the  hours  for  daily  prayer  and 
the  study  of  the  word.  To  a  son  starting  upon  a  long 
foreign  journey  he  writes :  — 

"  I  know  by  experience  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  heart  right 
when  one  is  travelling,  and  subject  to  so  many  changes  and  excit- 
ing scenes.  Often  obliged  to  be  up  early  and  to  retire  late,  and 
the  poor  body  demanding  rest,  there  is  great  danger  that  we  may 
not  secure  for  our  private  devotions  the  time  absolutely  necessary 
to  the  enjoyment  of  religion.  You  are  going  into  strange  countries, 
amid  persons  of  different  languages  and  habits  from  your  own,  and 
you  will  perhaps  have  no  opportunity  for  proper  retirement.  Thus 
there  is  need  of  more  than  ordinary  care.  You  must  have  your 
daily  heavenly  food,  or  you  will  droop  and  become  poor  and  spirit- 


CHARACTERISTICS.  2/9 

less.  Redeem  the  time  in  some  way,  and  if  no  suitable  place 
offers  at  the  moment,  the  necessity  is  more  apparent  for  stated 
mental  devotion.  Never  have  you  been  in  circumstances  where 
the  injunction  was  more  appropriate,  '  Watch  and  pray,  lest  ye  enter 
into  temptation.'  Another  important  point  is,  be  sure  under  all 
circumstances  to  maintain  proper  Christian  deportment.  I  do  not 
want  you  to  put  on  any  unnatural  stiffness,  but  a  consistent  be- 
havior everywhere.  Never  neglect  a  chance  to  speak  a  word  for 
the  Master  you  love  and  serve.  By  cherishing  the  idea  of  daily 
doing  good  in  some  way  to  those  in  your  company,  or  with  whom 
you  come  in  contact,  you  will  keep  the  spirit  of  religion  alive  in 
your  own  heart.  A  word  dropped  by  the  way  may  meet  you  at  the 
bar  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  some  soul  you  may  never  meet  again 
until  then.  Letting  your  light  shine  as  a  Christian  traveller,  is  the 
best  way  to  keep  your  own  heart  right  in  the  sight  of  God." 

Mr.  Dodge's  attachment  to  his  mother  was  tender  and 
strong;  and  it  was  his  privilege,  after  the  death  of  his 
father,  to  take  her  to  his  own  home  and  cherish  her  there 
until  the  close  of  her  long  and  active  life.  A  writer  in  the 
"  Illustrated  Christian  Weekly,"  soon  after  the  death  of 
Mr.  Dodge,  speaks  thus  of  the  mother:  — 

"  Most  of  the  notices  of  the  late  William  E.  Dodge  have  spoken 
of  his  father,  and  of  his  influence  in  forming  the  character  and 
shaping  the  life  of  his  excellent  son.  And  all  that  was  said  of  that 
father  was  just  and  well  deserved  ;  for  he  was  known  and  honored 
not  only  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  standing,  but  as  a  faithful  and 
consistent  Christian.  But  I  have  nowhere  seen  allusion  to  Mr. 
Dodge's  mother,  to  whom  he  was  probably  more  indebted  -than  to 
any  one  else  for  his  early  training  in  the  ways  of  truth  and  duty,  and 
for  the  impressions  that  led  him  in  his  youth  to  the  service  of  the 
Saviour,  and  prepared  him  for  the  eminent  excellence  and  usefulness 
of  his  later  life. 

"  Mrs.  Dodge  was  not  only  a  woman  of  sound  judgment  and 
remarkably  good  common-sense,  but,  above  all,  an  eminently  faith- 
ful Christian.  Especially  she  was  a  praying  woman,  living  very 
near  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  and  praying  not  only  for,  but  with,  her 
children,  and  doing  all  in  her  power  to  lead  them,  in  their  earliest 


28O  CHARACTERISTICS. 

days,  to  devote  themselves  to  the  Saviour.  A  friend  who  knew 
her  well  once  said  to  the  writer :  '  If  there  was  ever  a  praying 
woman  on  earth,  it  was  Mrs.  Dodge ;  and  her  earnest  and  con- 
stant prayer  was  that  her  children  might  be  faithful  Christians.' 
And  another  said  of  her  that '  she  was  so  deeply  importunate  in 
prayer  that  at  times  it  seemed  as  if  she  would  faint  in  the  closet, 
and  so  earnest  in  pleading  with  God  for  her  children  that,  with 
Jacob,  she  seemed  to  say,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless 
me." '  And  her  life  was  fully  consistent  with  her  teachings  and 
prayers,  so  that  by  precept  and  example,  with  prayer  and  parental 
authority,  she  led  her  children  to  the  service  of  Christ." 

No  one  ever  knew  Mr.  Dodge  intimately,  or  even  be- 
came a  transient  guest  in  his  family,  without  discovering 
that  of  all  his  engaging  qualities,  the  most  marked  and 
beautiful  was  his  daily  tender  and  glowing  devotion  to 
the  one  who  had  so  long  and  lovingly  stood  at  his  side. 
No  place  could  be  attractive  to  him  without  her  presence ; 
no  joy  was  complete  unless  shared  with  her.  Into  every 
dark  cloud  of  anxiety  or  grief  she  entered  hand  in  hand 
with  him,  and  the  path  must  be  gloomy  indeed  if  her  quick 
sympathy  and  devout  spirit  could  not  help  to  find  some 
ray  of  heavenly  comfort. 

They  counselled  with  each  other  upon  every  subject  of 
family  or  personal  concern.  They  were  almost  invariably 
seen  together  in  public.  On  his  business  journeys  as  well 
as  all  others,  she  was  his  constant  companion ;  and  in  his 
extensive  and  complicated  transactions  he  was  often  glad 
to  have  the  aid  of  her  sound  judgment  and  ready  percep- 
tion of  right.  Let  the  worry  and  fatigues  of  his  down- town 
life  be  what  they  might,  —  and  they  were  frequently  ex- 
hausting beyond  the  experience  of  many, — he  was  sure 
to  find  waiting  for  him  at  home  a  glad  smile  of  welcome 
and .  a  loving  intuition  that  understood  when  to  speak  of 
the  known  or  presumed  burdens,  or  how  to  make  them, 
if  possible,  quite  forgotten.  This  unwearying  regard  was 
warmly  reciprocated,  and  her  happiness  was  his  first 


CHARACTERISTICS.  28 1 

thought  in  all  he  did.  He  observed  in  his  intercourse 
with  every  one  the  small  attentions  and  courtesies  which 
help  to  make  common  life  enjoyable;  but  to  her  these 
numberless  loving  services  were  rendered  with  a  thought- 
fulness  and  alacrity  that  told  of  a  union  of  heart  as  nearly 
perfect  as  human  experience  probably  ever  knows. 

A  friend,  recalling  some  of  Mr.  Dodge's  personal  traits, 
speaks  of  sitting  beside  him  at  a  religious  celebration  in 
the  Academy  of  Music.  During  the  interval  before  the 
exercises  began,  Mr.  Dodge  was  evidently  uneasy,  rising 
from  time  to  time  and  looking  over  the  audience.  At  last 
he  turned  to  his  friend  and  remarked,  "  I  told  my  wife 
I  should  watch  for  her  coming."  He  presently  discovered 
her  in  a  box  above  him ;  and  having  caught  her  eye  and 
smiled  a  greeting,  he  seemed  wholly  satisfied,  and  was 
ready  to  enjoy  the  services  of  the  evening. 

Every  letter  written  to  her  during  their  occasional  sep- 
arations was  certain  to  contain  some  tender  injunctions 
respecting  her  health  and  comfort;  and  to  the  last  his 
unceasing  and  thoughtful  care  of  her  always  seemed  to 
their  intimate  friends  like  "  the  ardent  devotion  of  a  young 
lover."  In  his  will  repeated  and  positive  directions  are 
given  that  the  large  provision  made  for  her  should  have 
precedence  of  all  other  legacies  or  interests. 

It  may  perhaps  be  allowable  to  give  a  few  extracts  from 
one  of  his  letters  to  her,  written  on  an  anniversary  of  their 
wedding-day.  It  is  dated  Phelps's  Mills,  Pa.,  June  24, 
1854:  — 

"  Can  it  be  possible  that  twenty-six  years  have  passed  away  since 
we  were  united  in  that  blessed  bond  which  made  us  one !  How 
the  days  have  flown  !  I  cannot  realize  it.  In  the  retrospect  it  ap- 
pears but  a  very  few  years ;  yet  how  many  have  been  the  changes  ! 
How  much  cause  we  have  to  bless  God  for  his  constant  mercies  ! 
Ours,  it  seems  to  me,  has  been  (more  than  is  the  general  lot)  one 
of  almost  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  married  life.  We  have  had 
our  seasons  of  deep  affliction ;  but  even  then  the  sweet  confidence 


282  CHARACTERISTICS. 

which  has  existed  between  us  has  made  a  kind  of  joy  amid  sorrow, 
and  enabled  us  to  bear  each  other's  troubles.  And  when  we  could 
go  together  to  pour  out  our  hearts  in  prayer  to  our  Heavenly  Father, 
how  we  have  gained  strength  to  submit  with  cheerfulness  to  God's 
providence,  and  how  has  the  fact  that  we  had  a  common  God  and 
Saviour  to  go  to,  cemented  our  love  to  each  other,  and  given  a 
character  to  all  our  enjoyments  they  could  otherwise  never  have 
had  !  Should  God  spare  us  half  as  many  more  years  as  these 
twenty-six  which  have  now  so  pleasantly  and  rapidly  passed,  where 
shall  we  be,  and  where  will  our  sons  be,  if  they  live  ?  I  shall  then 
be  an  old  man  of  sixty-two  /" 

Twenty-four  years  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dodge  celebrated  their  "  golden  wedding,"  -  -June  24, 
1878.  Some  extracts  will  be  taken  from  the  accounts  in 
the  New  York  newspapers,  and  a  portion  of  Mr.  Dodge's 
own  remarks  will  also  be  given.  He  wrote  them  out  be- 
forehand ;  but  when  he  came  to  speak,  his  emotions  pre- 
vented him  from  repeating  all  he  had  prepared.  Yet  the 
thoughts  he  carefully  put  upon  paper  reveal  the  more 
clearly  how  deep  and  true  was  his  appreciation  of  the  one 
who  had  been  his  loving  companion  for  fifty  years :  — 

"  The  boom  of  guns  fired  yesterday  afternoon  from  two  yachts, 
the  'Skylark'  and  '  Florence  Witherbee,'  lying  at  anchor  in  the  Hud- 
son, off  Tarrytown,  awoke  the  inhabitants  of  that  somnolent  village 
to  the  fact  that  their  most  prominent  townsman,  Hon.  William  E. 
Dodge,  was  celebrating  with  appropriate  ceremonies  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  his  wedding  with  Melissa  Phelps.  For  weeks  the 
approaching  festivities  had  formed  the  one  theme  of  neighborly 
gossip,  and  the  day  of  their  culmination  was  regarded  as  a  sort  of 
general  fete-day  for  the  village.  Nearly  a  thousand  invitations 
had  been  issued,  and  guests  began  to  arrive  in  the  early  morning 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  though  the  majority  of  them  were 
from  this  city.  The  Dodge  mansion,  with  its  spacious  grounds,  is 
high  on  the  hill-side  overlooking  the  Hudson,  and  half  a  mile  south 
of  the  village.  The  view  from  the  veranda  is  magnificent,  embra- 
cing wide  sweeps  of  the  broad  river,  and  the  blue  western  hills  be- 
yond. The  grounds  are  a  happy  mingling  of  close-cut  lawn,  dotted 


CHARACTERISTICS.  283 

with  groups  of  noble  trees,  brilliant  beds  of  flowers,  and  smooth, 
gravelled  walks  and  driveways.  The  house  is  of  brick,  many  gabled, 
roomy,  and  comfortable.  Its  chief  beauty  is  in  broad  verandas 
that  completely  encircle  it.  Yesterday  it  was  one  mass  of  flowers 
and  aromatic  evergreens  within  and  without.  Flowers  were  every- 
where ;  they  were  twined  into  arches  over  the  doorways,  they  filled 
vases  and  baskets,  and  stood  in  great  fragrant  bunches  wherever 
room  could  be  found  for  them.  Many  floral  designs  of  exquisite 
taste  and  workmanship,  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  were  scattered 
about  the  house  in  lavish  profusion.  The  verandas  without  were 
masses  of  flowers,  and  the  warm  air  was  heavy  with  their  perfume. 
Midway  down  the  long  drive,  between  the  house  and  the  entrance 
to  the  grounds  at  the  head  of  a  tiny  lake,  was  a  triumphal  arch  of 
evergreens,  flowers  and  flags,  under  which  all  guests  passed  on 
their  way  to  the  hospitable  mansion.  In  immortelles,  on  either 
face  of  the  arch,  were  the  figures  1828  and  1878. 

"  A  similar  decoration,  wrought  in  roses,  was  over  the  steps  lead- 
ing to  the  main  entrance  of  the  house.  On  the  lawn  a  handsome 
marquee  had  been  pitched.  Above  the  wide  porch  was  another 
cushioning  of  green,  and  here  the  initials  of  the  old-time  bride  and 
groom  were  worked  out  in  flowers,  —  W.  E.  D.,  and  M.  P. 

"  The  formal  reception-hours  were  from  2  until  7  p.  M.  ;  but  at 
noon  the  members  of  the  family,  relatives,  and  intimate  friends 
gathered  in  the  drawing-room.  There  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge 
and  their  seven  sons  with  their  families.  There  are  fourteen  grand- 
children in  all ;  but  yesterday  only  nine  were  at  the  celebration. 
The  intimate  friends  present  were  the  Rev.  Dr.  M.  R.  Vincent,  of 
the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  Mr.  Dodge's  pastor  j  the  Rev.  Drs. 
William  Adams  and  H.  Eaton ;  E.  C.  Stedman,  who  is  a  nephew 
of  Mr.  Dodge ;  Hon.  William  Walter  Phelps ;  Mrs.  E.  C.  Kinney, 
Mr.  Dodge's  only  surviving  sister ;  Mrs.  James  Stokes,  Mrs.  Charles 
F.  Pond,  Norman  White,  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Egleston.  The  last  five 
persons  named  were  also  present  at  the  wedding,  which  took  place, 
June  24,  1828,  at  No.  32  Cliff  Street,  New  York,  the  home  of  the 
bride.  Norman  White  acted  as  groomsman. 

"The  ceremonies  of  the  golden  wedding-day  began  with  the 
christening  of  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  Dodge's  youngest  son 
Arthur,  an  infant  only  six  or  seven  weeks  old.  It  was  named 
Murray  Witherbee,  after  an  old  college  friend  of  its  father.  This 


284  CHARACTERISTICS. 

ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Rev.  D.  Stuart  Dodge,  an  uncle 
of  the  child,  the  water  being  held  in  a  silver  vessel  by  another  of 
the  family.  Beside  its  mother  stood  its  grandfather,  ex-postmaster 
General  Jewell. 

"The  short  but  beautiful  service  was  followed  by  an  adjourn- 
ment to  the  dining-room,  where  a  collation  was  spread. 

"  After  the  christening-breakfast  had  been  eaten,  the  family  party 
gathered  in  the  drawing-room  again.  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  being 
the  eldest  son,  acted  as  master  of  ceremonies,  and  after  a  few 
words  of  congratulation  to  his  father  and  mother,  asked  Dr.  Vin- 
cent to  pray ;  and  then  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  Sr.,  spare  in  figure, 
with  white  hair  and  whiskers,  but  erect  and  full  of  vigor,  told  the 
simple  story  of  the  wedding  of  fifty  years  ago. 

"Mv  DEAR  CHILDREN,  GRANDCHILDREN,  AND  FRIENDS, 
—  We  have  invited  you  to  join  with  us  to-day  in  a  tribute 
of  thanksgiving  to  our  Heavenly  Father  for  the  special 
mercy  which  has  prolonged  our  lives  and  permitted  us  to 
look  back  upon  a  married  life  of  fifty  years. 

"  Our  song  this  morning  is,  — '  Bless  the  Lord,  O  our 
souls,  and  forget  not  all  his  benefits ; '  '  Surely  goodness 
and  mercy  have  followed  us  all  the  days  of  our  lives.'  We 
feel  that,  under  God,  we  owe  all  we  are  to  the  tender,  faith- 
ful care  of  our  godly  parents,  who  from  infancy  dedicated 
us  to  God,  and  by  constant  Christian  watchfulness  and 
prayer  brought  us  up  in  his  fear,  and  rejoiced  to  see  us  in 
early  youth  consecrate  ourselves  to  his  service,  —  both 
uniting  with  the  church  the  same  year. 

"  The  intimacy  existing  between  our  families  led  to  an 
early  acquaintance  and  interest  in  each  other,  which  ripened 
into  an  attachment  long  before  the  formal  engagement 
that  resulted  in  our  marriage  on  the  24th  of  June,  1828. 
As  we  had  never  known  any  other  attachment,  ours  was 
one  of  real  affection;  and  we  can  truly  say  to-day  that 
however  strong  it  was  then,  these  fifty  years  of  married  life 
have  only  tended  to  increase  it  from  year  to  year.  It  has 
grown  brighter  and  brighter  to  this  golden  day. 

"  We  have  not  passed  through  these  long  years  without 


CHARACTERISTICS.  23$ 

our  trials.  There  have  been  days  of  darkness  and  afflic- 
tion ;  but  we  desire  to-day  to  record  our  testimony  to  the 
goodness  of  our  Heavenly  Father  that  he  has  never  left 
nor  forsaken  us.  We  have  always  found  the  mercy-seat 
our  place  of  resort  and  refuge,  and  '  God  a  present  help  in 
trouble.' 

"  And  we  say,  for  the  sake  of  our  children  and  grand- 
children, that  from  the  beginning  of  our  married  life  we 
have  always  been  frank  and  open  between  ourselves  in  all 
our  Christian  experience,  talking  freely  to  each  other,  and 
often  praying  together  for  special  blessings  upon  ourselves 
and  children ;  and  as  we  now  look  back  we  feel  that  this 
loving  Christian  confidence  has  been  one  of  the  very  pre- 
cious features  of  our  married  life.  It  may  also  be  proper 
on  such  an  occasion  to  say  to  our  dear  descendants  that 
as  we  think  of  these  happy  fifty  years,  there  has  never 
been  anything  in  our  intercourse  which  to-day  leaves  a 
dark  spot  we  would  wish  to  forget.  It  has  been  a  life  of 
true  devotion  to  each  other,  so  that  long  since  we  have 
come  to  act  and  almost  think  as  one.  We  early  learned 
to  respect  each  other's  opinions  and  judgment,  and  to 
avoid  all  kinds  of  disputes  and  contentions  for  our  indi- 
vidual views,  consulting  together  in  regard  to  all  matters 
in  which  each  had  an  interest.  We  have  always  watched, 
even  in  little  things,  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  add  to  each 
other's  happiness,  and  never  allow  even  an  impolite  word 
or  anything  to  dampen  our  mutual  respect  and  love.  We 
have  thus  been  able  to  sympathize  with  each  other  and 
bear  each  other's  burdens ;  and  in  reviewing  the  past,  we 
are  bound  in  gratitude  to  God  to  state,  that  while  we  have 
not,  as  a  general  thing,  had  those  rapturous  seasons  of 
heavenly  anticipations  with  which  some  have  been  favored, 
we  have  for  the  most  part,  during  all  these  years,  enjoyed 
a  firm  hope  and  steady  confidence,  trusting  alone  to  the 
mercy  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  Our  daily  Bible  and 
devotional  reading  have  become  more  and  more  precious 


286  CHARACTERISTICS. 

to  us  as  each  year  has  passed ;  and  we  have  found  it  a 
great  comfort  and  joy  to  talk  together  respecting  the  por- 
tions of  Scripture  we  were  reading.  Next  to  my  hope  in 
God,  the  great  blessing  of  my  life  was  the  providence  that 
gave  me  a  companion  who,  by  her  even,  loving,  tender 
disposition,  was  just  calculated  to  meet  the  need  of  one 
naturally  earnest,  nervous,  and  driving  like  myself.  Her 
affectionate  interest  in  all  that  concerned  me  has  made 
life's  cares,  which  otherwise  would  have  been  too  heavy 
for  me,  comparatively  light.  I  feel  it  due  to  her  to  say 
to-day  that  in  all  these  fifty  years  not  an  unkind  word  has 
ever  been  spoken  to  me  by  my  dear  wife ;  and  what  I  am, 
under  God,  I  owe  very  much  to  our  sweet  intercourse 
together. 

"Appropriate  remarks  followed  from  the  sons.  Anson  G.  P. 
Dodge,  of  Georgia,  who  came  North  especially  to  attend  the 
golden  wedding,  told  of  the  affection  and  respect  with  which  the 
citizens  of  that  and  other  States  always  mentioned  his  father's 
name.  The  Rev.  D.  Stuart  Dodge  alluded  with  a  smile  to  what 
he  termed  the  mythical  story  of  the  descent  of  the  family  from  the 
royal  race  of  the  Stuarts.  He  was  quite  willing,  he  said,  to  take 
his  patent  of  royalty  from  the  last  generation.  Turning  to  his 
mother,  he  told  a  story  of  a  little  boy  who,  hearing  the  adage, 
'  An  honest  man  is  the  noblest  work  of  God,'  exclaimed,  '  No,  no  ! 
my  mamma  is  the  noblest  work  of  God.'  General  Charles  C.  Dodge 
spoke  of  the  reverence  and  affection  that  had  always  been  felt  by 
his  brothers  and  himself  towards  their  father.  He  was  followed  by 
Mr.  Arthur  Murray  Dodge ;  and  then  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr., 
read  a  poem  written  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Kinney,  his  father's  only 
living  sister.  It  was  printed  in  gilt  letters,  and  handsomely  framed. 
The  writer  prayed,  in  closing  :  — 

'  Thus  may  such  length  of  days  be  given 
This  pair  beloved,  revered,  that  even 
Their  own  lives  rounded  this  side  heaven 
Complete  a  century ! ' 

"  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman,  who  is  a  son  of  the  poetess,  was 
then  invited  to  read  a  poem  he  had  prepared ;  and  after  adding 


CHARACTERISTICS.  287 

his  tribute  to  the  character  and  example  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  Dodge, 
he  quoted  from  Bunyan  the  narrative  description  of  Christian  and 
his  wife.  He  said  that  with  this  as  a  text  he  had  prepared  some 
verses,  which  he  read  as  follows  :  — 

"CHRISTIAN   AND   CHRISTIANA. 

Who  has  not  read  —  what  man  that  loved 
Good  English,  pious  speech,  and  valiant  deed  — 
The  rare  old  book  in  which  John  Bunyan  proved 
His  poet's  heart  alive  beneath  his  creed  ? 

Who  has  not  in  his  fancy  travelled  long 
With  Christian  on  that  ancient  pilgrimage,  — 
Shared  all  his  fears,  and  lifted  up  the  song 
After  the  battles  it  was  his  to  wage  ? 

Or  with  brave  Christiana  followed  on, 
Choosing  the  path  her  lord  had  trod  before, 
Until  the  Heavenly  City,  almost  won, 
Shone  like  a  dream  beyond  the  River's  shore  ? 

Well,  't  is  a  goodly  tale,  we  think  ;  and  close 
The  book  we  have  from  childhood  read,  and  say  : 
'  The  age  of  miracles  is  past !     Who  knows 
The  joyous  saints,  the  pilgrims  of  to-day  ? ' 

'  No  light,'  we  say,  '  like  that  which  was  of  old  I ' 
Yet  still  serenely  shine  the  midnight  stars ; 
And  there  are  wonders  left  us  to  behold 
If  we  but  think  to  look  between  the  bars. 

Even  now  before  our  eyes,  his  large  heart  warm 
With  the  fine  heat  that  shames  our  colder  blood, 
Stands  Christian,  in  as  true  and  living  form 
As  that  in  which  old  Bunyan's  hero  stood. 

Long  since  this  happy  pilgrim,  staff  in  hand, 
Set  out ;  yet  not  alone,  for  by  his  side 
Went  Christiana  also  toward  the  Land 
Anear  whose  boundaries  they  now  abide. 

Each  day  less  distant  from  the  City's  Gate, 

Through  shade  and  sunshine,  hand  in  hand  they  pressed ; 

Now  combating  the  foes  that  lay  in  wait, 

And  now  in  pleasant  meadows  lulled  to  rest. 


288  CHARACTERISTICS. 

Early  the  Palace  Beautiful  they  found, 
Where  Prudence,  Charity,  and  Faith  abide; 
The  Lowly  Valley  little  had  to  wound 
Their  gentle  hearts  devoid  of  scorn  and  pride. 

The  darker  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death 
They  passed ;  but  with  them  One  they  knew  was  near, 
Staid  by  whose  rod  and  staff  the  Psalmist  saith 
The  toiling  pilgrim  shall  no  evil  fear. 

And  many  seasons  afterward  they  dwelt 

In  Vanity's  great  city ;  there,  apart 

From  all  things  base  and  mean,  they  humbly  knelt 

With  prayer  upon  their  lips  and  pure  of  heart. 

He  too  has  fought  with  giants,  —  those  that  lurk 
In  fastnesses  of  want,  despair,  and  sin ; 
By  day  and  night  he  did  his  Master's  work, 
Hoping  a  house  not  made  with  hands  to  win. 

And  Christian  from  the  outset  took 
Sweet  Mercy  for  a  guide  and  bosom  friend ; 
And  sought  with  her  the  poor  in  every  nook,  — 
Giving  as  one  that  to  the  Lord  doth  lend. 

Together  thus  they  climbed  above  the  pass 
Where  from  the  Hill  Delectable  't  is  given 
To  gaze  at  moments  through  the  Shepherd's  glass, 
And  catch  a  far-off,  rapturous  glimpse  of  heaven. 

Sorrows  they  knew;  but  what  delight  was  there, 
Led  oftentimes  where  the  still  waters  flow, 
Or  in  green  pastures  guided  unaware 
To  trees  of  life  that  hung  their  fruitage  low  1 

Now,  ere  the  pilgrimage  is  .ended  quite, 
Its  weariness  forgot,  they  seat  them  down 
In  Beulah,  in  a  country  of  delight, 
And  rest  a  season  ere  they  wear  the  crown. 

Here,  after  half  a  century,  they  breathe 

Air  fresh  from  Paradise ;  and  here  renew 

Their  wedding  vows,  while  unseen  watchers  wreathe 

For  each  a  chaplet,  sprayed  with  golden  dew. 

Blessing  and  blest,  amidst  their  household  group 
Christian  and  Christiana  here  await 
Their  summons,  knowing  that  the  shining  troop 
Will  bear  to  each  a  token,  soon  or  late. 


CHARACTERISTICS.  289 

And  we  who  gather  near,  —  ourselves  too  blind 
To  see  undazed  the  light  of  Heaven's  grace,— 
Their  well-loved  visages  behold,  and  find 
A  bright  reflected  glory  in  each  face. 

"  In  commemoration  of  the  day,  Mr.  Dodge  afterwards  presented 
to  his  wife  a  large  painting  by  Daniel  Huntington,  N.  A.,  illustrat- 
ing the  story  of  Christiana  and  her  children. 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  William  Adams  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  Eaton,  of 
Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  both  old  friends  of  Mr.  Dodge,  tendered  their  con- 
gratulations in  brief  speeches.  A  poem  written  by  a  neighbor, 
Mrs.  Bottome,  read  by  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  ended  the  exercises. 

"  By  this  time  the  friends  from  the  city  began  to  arrive.  They 
came  by  a  special  train,  which  had  left  New  York  an  hour  before. 

"  One  by  one  the  carriages  whirled  up  the  gravelled  avenue 
under  the  arch  and  deposited  their  gayly  dressed  loads  at  the 
main  entrance  of  the  house.  Several  hundred  persons  were  soon 
scattered  about  the  grounds  and  in  the  house.  They  were  gradu- 
ally collected  in  the  flower-decked  drawing-rooms,  where,  in  front 
of  a  great  floral  screen  bearing  their  names  and  the  date  of  their 
wedding-day,  stood  the  happy  pair  in  whose  honor  the  festival  was 
given. 

"  At  noon  the  sky  had  been  overcast,  and  rain  was  threatening. 
But  when  the  guests  arrived,  rilling  the  house  and  overflowing 
through  the  broad  piazzas  into  the  grounds,  the  clouds  had  disap- 
peared, the  sky  was  blue,  and  the  sun  shone  out  brightly.  A  por- 
tion of  Thomas's  orchestra  sat  under  the  trees  and  furnished  music. 
Relatives  and  the  more  intimate  friends  of  the  family,  sufficient  to 
make  a  gay  party,  remained  through  the  early  evening  and  en- 
joyed the  fireworks  from  the  yachts,  the  illumination  of  the  groves, 
and  the  open-air  concert  of  the  band.  During  the  day  nearly  six 
hundred  guests  tendered  their  congratulations  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dodge,  and  wished  them  long  life  and  continued  prosperity." 

Referring  to  this  memorable  family  occasion,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Field  wrote  in  "  The  Evangelist,"  June  27,  1878 :  — 

"  There  are  some  bright  scenes  in  this  world,  with  all  its  sadness 
and  sorrow ;  but  not  many  brighter  or  happier  than  was  witnessed 
on  Monday  at  a  beautiful  residence  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson, 

19 


290  CHARACTERISTICS. 

when  William  E.  Dodge  and  his  wife  celebrated  their  golden  wed- 
ding, surrounded  by  children  and  grandchildren  and  a  host  of 
friends  who  came  to  offer  their  congratulations.  It  was  a  scene 
that  must  have  been  to  them  full  of  tender  and  grateful  memories. 
Fifty  years  before  they  had  stood  side  by  side  in  the  freshness  of 
their  young  manhood  and  womanhood,  and  begun  the  journey  of 
life  together.  They  laid  the  foundation  of  happiness,  not  merely 
in  their  mutual  love  and  trust,  but  in  a  common  Christian  faith  and 
hope.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring  performed  the  ceremony, 
and  they  were  married  in  the  old  mansion  of  Anson  G.  Phelps, 
which  stood  in  Cliff  Street,  nearly  opposite  to  where  the  house  of 
Phelps,  Dodge,  &  Co.  now  stands.  How  little  they  dreamed,  when 
they  went  forth  from  her  father's  house,  of  what  was  before  them  ! 

"  Few  men  in  this  country  have  had  such  a  long  career  of  pros- 
perity, and  fewer  still  one  in  which  prosperity  has  brought  more  of 
good  to  others  as  well  as  to  himself.  Wealth  has  not  been  made 
to  minister  merely  to  pride  and  selfishness,  but  has  been  used  gen- 
erously to  promote  every  good  object,  to  relieve  every  form  of 
suffering  and  distress,  and  to  help  every  wise  charity  and  every 
object  of  Christian  benevolence. 

"During  the  years  of  his  active  business  life  he  has  seen  the 
beginning  and  growth  of  almost  every  enterprise  for  the  good  of 
the  city  or  the  country,  or  for  the  advancement  of  religion ;  and  he 
has  had  a  part  in  all.  New  York  has  had  no  more  public-spirited 
citizen ;  he  has  always  been  ready  to  bear  his  part  in  the  promo- 
tion of  every  object  which  was  for  the  city's  good,  while  in  the 
Church  all  have  leaned  upon  him.  We  doubt  if  there  is  an  Amer- 
ican mission  in  any  part  of  the  world  which  has  not  shared  in  his 
munificence. 

"  We  do  not  violate  any  confidence  when  we  say,  what  is  known 
to  their  intimate  friends,  that  in  all  his  career  of  benevolence, 
which  has  hardly  a  parallel  in  this  country,  Mr.  Dodge  has  had  the 
constant  support  of  a  noble  womanly  heart  which  is  as  generous 
as  his  own.  Possessing  wealth  in  her  own  right,  it  has  been  her 
delight  to  share  in  every  great  object  of  benevolence  which  en- 
gaged his  attention,  while  in  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  the  suffering, 
her  help  has  flowed  out  in  a  hundred  unseen  charities.  It  is  this 
which,  more  than  great  wealth,  has  made  their  names  so  honored 
and  beloved,  which  on  this  day  of  joy  has  led  thousands  to  'joy 


CHARACTERISTICS.  2QI 

in  their  joy/  and  made  them  richer  than  ever  before,  as  it  has 
caused  to  flow  in  upon  them  such  a  tide  of  love  and  gratitude. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  has  already  completed  his  threescore  years  and 
ten,  and  yet  his  eye  is  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  strength  abated. 
He  is  still  in  his  full  vigor,  with  erect  form  and  elastic  step,  and 
sympathies  as  easily  moved  as  ever.  Age  has  not  chilled  his  warm 
heart's  blood,  and  we  trust  that  with  the  partner  of  his  life  he  may 
be  spared  another  decade  at  least,  to  celebrate  his  'diamond 
wedding ; '  and  so,  as  the  silver  has  already  turned  to  gold,  and 
the  gold  turns  to  diamond,  the  diamond  itself  may  change  at  last 
to  what  is  brighter  still,  —  the  immortal  crown  ! " 


CHAPTER   XX. 

PERSONAL    HABITS.—  BENEVOLENCE.— HOSPITALITY. 
—  LAST  LABORS.  — DEATH. 

MR.   DODGE   was  always  abstemious  in  his  habits, 
and  consequently  enjoyed  almost  unvarying  good 
health.      Among  the  personal  items  in  the  "  New  York 
Tribune"  (Nov.  i,  1882),  some  three  months  previous  to 
his  death,  allusion  was  made  to  his  sustained  vigor :  — 

"  They  talk  of  a  hale  old  age  among  public  men  in  England. 
Can  any  one  of  them  surpass  this  ?  The  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge, 
born  somewhere  near  the  beginning  of  the  century,  and  for  nearly 
sixty  years  the  most  conspicuous  figure  in  the  temperance  cause,  of 
whose  great  National  Society  he  has  long  been  the  president,  an- 
nounces the  following  programme  of  a  day's  temperance  campaign 
which  would  try  the  stoutest  young  campaigner.  He  will  leave 
New  York  Friday  noon ;  speak  at  Port  Morris  at  three  ;  take  a  lo- 
comotive, and  speak  at  Dover  at  seven ;  take  a  locomotive  again, 
and  speak  at  Boonton  at  half-past  eight ;  and  return  to  town  that 
night.  The  object  is  to  give  his  opinion  to  the  local  temperance 
societies  as  to  the  wisdom  of  running  a  separate  temperance  ticket 
in  Morris  County  this  year." 

Mr.  Dodge  possessed  an  unusual  capacity  for  con- 
tinuous and  varied  work,  and  also  the  somewhat  rare 
faculty  of  being  able  to  concentrate  his  entire  attention 
upon  one  topic  until  he  had  reached  a  decision  or  was 
called  away,  and  then  to  become  equally  and  immediately 
absorbed  in  the  next  matter  in  hand.  And  no  doubt  the 
necessity  of  turning  rapidly  from  one  subject  to  another  in 
the  management  of  his  extensive  interests  gave  a  degree 


PERSONAL  HABITS.  293 

of  relief  that  assisted  him  to  accomplish  so  much  without 
apparent  overstraining. 

But  while  unsparing  in  the  use  of  his  own  strength,  he 
was  prompt  to  notice  when  others  were  exhausting  theirs, 
and  he  took  special  satisfaction  in  aiding  friends,  ministers, 
or  any  one  in  his  employ,  or  connected  with  the  boards  or 
societies  in  which  he  was  interested,  to  have  their  regular 
or  occasional  seasons  of  recreation. 

He  was  economical  in  his  personal  expenditure,  and 
always  anxious  to  encourage  others  in  the  habit  of  saving. 
At  the  close  of  his  address  upon  "  Old  New  York  "  he 
spoke  of  the  elements  of  success  in  mercantile  life,  and 
stated  it  as  his  conviction  that  — 

"  All  young  men  should  aim  to  save  something  each  year,  even 
at  the  expense  of  a  limited  wardrobe  and  many  little  things  which 
they  think  necessary.  If  there  were  none  but  young  men  here,  I 
would  say  that  from  the  first  year  when  I  entered  a  store,  with  a 
salary  of  fifty  dollars,  to  my  last  year,  when  as  a  salesman  I  re- 
ceived, for  those  days,  very  large  pay,  I  never  failed  to  save  a  por- 
tion of  what  I  received  ;  and  when  I  started  in  business  that  sum 
and  my  experience  were  all  my  capital." 

In  a  letter  to  a  young  relative,  remonstrating  at  his  ex- 
travagance, Mr.  Dodge  refers  to  his  own  early  experience :  — 

"  When  I  was  married  and  went  to  housekeeping  in  the  city,  our 
entire  expenses,  including  house-rent,  for  the  first  three  years,  aver- 
aged only  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year.  I  had  just 
commenced  business  on  my  own  account  with  the  capital  I  had 
carefully  saved  during  my  eight  years'  clerkship,  as  in  all  that  time 
I  had  been  most  economical ;  and  since  I  was  twelve  years  old 
have  never  had  fifty  dollars  that  I  did  not  earn  myself." 

The  habit  of  loosely  running  into  debt  was  most  repug- 
nant to  Mr.  Dodge,  but  it  seemed  to  him  that  students  and 
ministers  should  especially  avoid  the  practice.  He  often 
preferred,  if  the  circumstances  would  justify  it,  to  give 
part,  or  all,  of  a  sum  needed,  rather  than  lend  it.  To  a 
young  minister  who  asked  for  a  loan  he  replies :  — 


294  LETTERS   OF  ADVICE. 

"  It  will  not  be  convenient  for  me  to  make  you  the  loan  desired ; 
but  I  enclose  you  a  check  for  a  hundred  dollars,  which  you  will 
please  accept.  I  do  not  like  to  be  instrumental  in  helping  a  min- 
ister carry  a  debt.  I  trust,  by  great  effort,  you  will  be  able  to  pay 
off  your  present  obligations  within  the  next  two  years,  and  then 
find  it  possible  to  act  on  the  apostolic  injunction,  '  Owe  no  man 
anything  but  love.'  " 

He  thus  writes  to  a  young  physician  who  has  discredit- 
ably failed  in  his  last  place  of  practice,  and  whom  he  is 
helping  to  go  West,  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  a  widowed 
mother :  — 

"  If  you  will  make  up  your  mind  hereafter  to  do  your  duty  and 
act  like  a  straightforward  man ;  resolve  to  die  rather  than  contract 
debt;  live  in  a  simple,  plain  way;  give  up  your  foolish  idea  of 
dress ;  talk  but  little  of  yourself,  but '  let  your  works  praise  you ; ' 
refuse  everything  in  the  way  of  stimulants ;  be  honest,  truthful,  and 
industrious,  —  in  six  months  you  can  get  practice  enough  to  sup- 
port your  family  in  the  manner  other  country  doctors  live,  and  from 
that  you  can  advance  to  occupy  almost  any  position  you  please. 
But  go  into  a  place,  talk  large,  live  high,  run  into  debt  every 
chance  you  can  get,  and  you  may  depend  on  the  displeasure  of 
God  and  the  contempt  of  every  honest  man." 

He  gives  this  frank  and  wholesome  advice  (February, 
1849)  to  a  young  friend  who  was  eager  to  start  for  the 
gold  mines  just  discovered  in  California:  — 

"  I  regret  to  find  that  the  fever  called  here  '  yellow  fever '  has 
reached  your  secluded  place.  It  is  the  strangest  delusion  that 
ever  came  over  a  people.  Our  streets  are  crowded  with  young 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  coming  to  take  passage  for  the 
land  of  gold.  I  say  to  you  honestly,  if  you  can  be  sure  of  potatoes 
to  eat  and  straw  for  a  bed  where  you  are,  do  not  think  of  California. 
I  believe  at  least  half  who  go  there  will  die  within  a  year,  and  the 
balance  would  give  their  weight  in  gold,  if  they  had  it,  to  get  back 
again.  If  you  are  determined,  at  all  hazards,  to  go,  be  certain  to 
go  by  sea  and  take  with  you  not  less  than  five  hundred  dollars  in 
gold  or  silver  to  keep  you  alive  when  you  get  there,  and  to  pay 


BENEVOLENCE.  295 

your  passage  home  by  the  earliest  opportunity.  Get  your  life  in- 
sured by  all  means,  and  make  your  policy  over  to  your  friends,  as 
the  chances  are  more  than  equal  that  they  will  have  to  collect  it. 
Almost  every  day  we  are  receiving  accounts  from  those  who  have 
crossed  the  Isthmus,  warning  their  friends  not  to  come  by  that 
route  ;  some  have  already  died  there.  More  passages  are  engaged 
from  Panama  to  San  Francisco  than  can  be  carried,  and  it  is  esti- 
mated that  soon  thousands  will  be  collected  at  Panama,  crowded 
together  waiting  for  a  steamer,  and  a  large  number  will  die  from 
cholera  and  other  diseases  caused  by  their  situation. 

"  If,  however,  on  due  reflection  you  still  decide  to  go,  I  will  do 
what  I  can  to  secure  you  a  passage,  although  my  conscience  will 
hardly  permit  me  to  aid  in  what  appears  to  me  so  suicidal  a 
course.  But  one  of  the  peculiar  symptoms  of  this  disease  is  that 
the  more  said  against  the  project,  the  more  men  insist  upon 
going." 

Mr.  Dodge  had  ample  experience  of  the  annoyances 
that  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  reputed  philanthropist.  Not  a  day 
passed  —  at  some  seasons  scarcely  an  hour —  that  he 
was  not  called  upon  by  an  agent,  with  the  ominous  sub- 
scription-book in  hand,  or  by  a  needy  applicant  for  that 
chronic  "  temporary  loan,"  or  some  one  to  ask  assistance 
to  secure  a  position  in  a  store,  office,  society,  or  Govern- 
ment bureau,  or  to  present  an  appeal,  state  a  grievance, 
or  seek  advice,  in  the  familiar  form  always  suggestive  of 
immediate  contributions.  Breakfast  would  hardly  be  over, 
or  dinner  fairly  begun,  before  a  ring  at  the  door  would 
announce  a  stranger  perhaps,  who  only  desired  "  a  moment 
of  his  valuable  time,"  but  would  try  to  absorb  an  hour. 
While  at  the  office,  his  personal  or  business  engagements 
counted  for  little  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  had  a  tale  to 
unfold,  and  wanted  to  insist  upon  telling  it. 

It  was  seldom  that  a  mail  failed  to  bring  him  at  least 
one  letter  with  the  usual  introductory  formula:  "Permit 
a  stranger  to  address  you  upon  a  subject  of  vital  import- 
ance"—  to  himself ;  or  "  You  will  doubtless  be  surprised 


296  BENEVOLENCE. 

to  receive  this  from  an  entire  stranger,"  —  he  never  was 
surprised ;  or  "  Knowing  your  reputation  for  being  ready 
to  distribute;  "  or  "  I  will  begin  by  asking  you  to  read  my 
letter  to  the  end,"  and  long  before  the  end  he  would 
naturally  discover  that  the  writer,  though  expressing 
"  much  diffidence,  presumes "  to  ask  very  distinctly  that 
"  out  of  your  abundance  of  this  world's  goods  "  a  mortgage 
of  two  thousand  dollars  should  be  lifted  from  "  our  house  ;  " 
a  life-insurance  policy  be  accepted  as  security  for  a  loan ; 
fifteen  dollars  be  sent  "  to  open  a  gold-mine  on  our  farm  in 
Georgia ;  "  assistance  be  given  to  start  a  saw-mill,  or  to 
enable  a  promising  young  man  to  begin  business  on  his 
own  account;  to  provide  "  an  annuity  which  would  not  be 
much  for  you  to  give,  but  much  for  us  to  have ; "  to  help 
establish  a  military  academy  in  the  South,  or  a  "  cheap 
weekly  of  high  stamp,"  or  "  a  coffee-room  and  boarding- 
house  for  sailors ;  "  to  build  an  artist's  studio,  on  the  plea 
that  he  is  a  foreigner;  to  set  up  a  patent-medicine  manu- 
factory ;  to  give  a  tombstone-cutter  a  chance  to  show  that 
he  might  be  one  of  the  first  sculptors  in  the  land  ;  to  advance 
"  two  or  three  hundred  dollars  to  increase  my  stock  of 
candies,  nuts,  and  other  articles ; "  to  relieve  "  an  heiress  to 
a  twelve-hundred-dollar  debt;"  to  make  it  possible  "to 
print  a  thousand  copies  of  my  new  work;  "  to  aid  a  young 
lady  to  sell  her  first  pictures,  or  a  young  man  from  England 
to  give  elocution  lessons  (original  poetry  enclosed),  or  a 
father  to  educate  his  daughters  suitably,  or  a  wife  to  carry 
her  invalid  husband  to  Europe  for  a  few  months,  or  per- 
haps to  assist  a  family  in  Louisiana  whose  lands  have  been 
overflowed,  or  a  man  wounded  in  the  late  war,  or  just 
discharged  from  the  hospital,  or  from  Sing-Sing  prison. 

Such  appeals  were  the  burden  of  scores  and  hundreds 
of  letters,  generally  from  persons  wholly  unknown,  and 
often  without  references  or  introductions  of  any  kind. 

Requests  without  number  came  also  from  charitable 
institutions  for  every  conceivable  malady  of  body  or  mind, 


BENEVOLENCE.  297 

and  from  organizations  all  over  the  land  for  objects  re- 
ligious, social,  or  national ;  but,  as  might  be  supposed,  by 
far  the  larger  number  asked  donations  for  some  specific 
form  of  church  work,  —  if  not  to  erect  the  original  building, 
then  for  repairs,  pulpit-furniture,  chandeliers,  bells,  fences 
and  flagging,  horse-sheds,  a  parsonage,  clergy-house,  or 
bishop's  residence,  or  perhaps  to  replenish  the  Sunday- 
school  library,  set  up  a  Gospel-tent,  or  start  some  new 
mission. 

Ingenuity  seemed  exhausted  in  devising  pleas  that  might 
prove  irresistible.  Pious  phrases  or  Scriptural  references 
—  "  the  cup  of  cold  water,"  "  lending  to  the  Lord,"  or 
other  quotations,  — were  most  frequently  employed.  Early 
friendship  or  some  introduction  at  a  meeting  or  else- 
where would  be  pleaded,  or  the  statement  that  the  writer 
did  not  wish  to  be  considered  "  a  common  beggar  or 
vagrant,"  or  —  it  might  be  —  a  challenge  "  to  see  if  you 
are  as  charitable  as  you  are  said  to  be." 

Mention  in  a  newspaper  of  any  donation  he  may  have 
made,  was  sure  to  swell  for  weeks  the  receipt  of  such 
letters ;  the  notice  itself  often  being  inserted,  and  then  the 
application  presented  in  view  of  such  "  immense  liberality," 
"  such  large  ability  and  larger  willingness." 

Mr.  Dodge  would  not  throw  aside  any  letter  asking 
assistance  until  he  was  convinced  that  the  merit  of  the 
plea  was  in  inverse  ratio  to  its  length  and  importunity.  But 
to  every  true  manly  —  or  womanly  —  call  for  help  he  rarely 
failed  to  give  glad  and  earnest  heed ;  and  if  it  concerned 
the  moral  or  spiritual  interest  of  an  individual,  a  church 
or  community,  he  strove  to  be  all  the  more  conscientious 
in  examining  the  claim.  From  stress  of  business  or  other 
engagements,  an  answer  might  be  deferred  for  days  or 
weeks,  and  a  dozen  or  more  such  letters  would  accumulate 
in  his  pockets  with  his  other  papers,  and  he  would  carry 
them  back  and  forth  from  the  office  to  the  house,  hoping 
at  one  place  or  the  other  to  find  time  to  reply.  And  more 


298  BENEVOLENCE. 

frequently  than  is  supposed,  even  after  careful  examina- 
tion and  full  acceptance  of  the  justness  of  the  call,  he  was 
compelled  to  say  he  had  already  committed  himself  to  so 
many  good  causes  that  he  must  refuse  in  this  instance. 
Yet  the  necessity  of  declining  was  often  perhaps  as  painful 
to  him  as  to  the  applicant,  and  his  letter  of  regret  would 
be  more  full  of  kindness  than  if  it  contained  a  check. 

Exaggerated  reports  of  the  amounts  he  gave  were 
probably  as  common  in  his  case  as  with  other  large 
givers.  He  certainly  never  estimated  the  sum  total  him- 
self, and  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  one  else  to  make 
the  calculation.  He  gave  not  merely  because  he  loved  to 
give,  but  he  loved  to  give  chiefly  from  the  conviction,  always 
present  with  him,  that  his  wealth  did  ndt  belong  to  himself, 
but  to  the  Master  who  was  willing  to  intrust  his  servant 
with  such  responsibility.  He  endeavored  to  see  his  Lord's 
guidance  whenever  he  made  a  donation,  and  he  could  then 
feel  he  was  in  reality  "  giving  to  the  Lord."  He  thus 
gained  both  the  joy  and  the  habit  that  belong  to  the 
"  cheerful  giver." 

An  instance  is  mentioned  by  the  Rev.  Henry  A.  Nelson, 
D.  D.,  in  the  "  Evangelist,"  Feb.  22,  1883,  which  illustrates 
one  of  Mr.  Dodge's  ways  of  aiding  a  worthy  cause,  and 
also  the  spirit  that  characterized  such  acts :  — 

"  Some  years  ago,  while  I  lived  in  St.  Louis,  I  visited  the  East 
in  behalf  of  an  interest  of  our  Presbyterian  Church  greatly  im- 
perilled by  the  war,  and  needing  a  generous  loan  of  several  thou- 
sand dollars  to  save  it.  It  would  be  a  loan  for  which  there  would 
be  little  security  except  Christian  faith.  Mr.  Dodge  took  a  deep 
interest  in  it,  and  designated  an  hour  in  the  evening  when  he  would 
meet  half  a  dozen  like-minded  men  at  the  Bible  House,  to  see 
what  could  be  done.  When  evening  came,  it  was  raining  about  as 
pouringly  as  it  ever  does.  Mr.  Dodge  was  not  there  at  the  hour, 
and  I  felt  that  if  he  did  not  come  at  all,  the  rain  was  a  sufficient 
excuse.  But  after  a  short  time  in  he  came,  fresh  and  eager  as  usual. 
He  explained  that  he  had  had  an  engagement  to  speak  early  in  the 


BENEVOLENCE. 


299 


evening  at  a  Mission  Sunday-school  meeting,  and  had  not  been 
able  to  get  away  earlier.  Before  he  left  the  room  he  placed  five 
thousand  dollars  at  our  disposal.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  loan 
was  repaid  to  him  at  the  end  of  three  years,  although  it  was  made 
for  five  years.  What  I  remember  with  special  interest,  is  the  genial 
heartiness  with  which  he  did  such  things,  as  if  it  were  a  favor  to 
him.  He  was  thankful  to  any  friend  who  would  help  him  find  ways 
of  doing  good  with  his  money,  of '  honoring  the  Lord  with  his  sub- 
stance.' He  would  exert  himself  to  improve  such  an  opportunity 
as  vigorously  as  he  would  improve  a  legitimate  opportunity  to  make 
money." 

Another  friend  remarks  in  reference  to  all  his  bene- 
factions :  — 

"  It  is  well  known  that  he  gave  with  princely  liberality ;  but  his 
personal  efforts  and  unwearied  labors  did  more  for  the  cause  of 
Christian  benevolence  than  even  his  munificent  gifts." 

Still  another  writer,  in  a  confidential  letter  some  two 
years  before  he  died,  observes :  — 

"  I  suppose,  under  God,  you  are  doing  more  for  your  genera- 
tion by  showing  other  rich  men  what  wealth  is  lent  to  us  for,  than 
even  the  great  good  of  your  benefactions." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  most  patient  and  generous  in  giving 
counsel  or  assistance  to  relatives  and  friends  in  trouble. 
One  of  them  once  wrote  to  him :  "  You  seem  to  be  a  kind 
of  Joseph  raised  up  to  keep  your  brethren  from  starva- 
tion." Another  says  of  him,  "  He  was  a  never-failing 
friend."  It  is  certain  that  a  large  portion  of  his  time  and 
no  small  share  of  his  means  found  continual  employment 
in  such  kind  offices. 

It  was  not  merely  the  number  of  hours  he  w<5uld  spend 
in  hearing  long  recitals  of  misfortune  and  suffering,  or  in 
reading  and  replying  to  letters  full  of  distressing  details, 
that  surprised  and  touched  those  who  knew  him  most  inti- 
mately, but  it  was  the  persistent  and  tender  interest  one 
so  energetic,  self-reliant,  and  indomitable  himself,  would 


3<DO  BENEVOLENCE. 

manifest  towards  poor,  weak,  shiftless,  it  may  be  perverse, 
souls,  full  of  good  resolutions  or  sanguine  schemes,  but 
repeatedly  relapsing  into  old  habits,  or  failing  from  utter 
incompetency,  and  then  coming  back  again  and  again  to 
roll  over  upon  him  their  fresh  disappointments  and  sor- 
rows ;  and  he,  in  the  very  spirit  of  his  Master,  would  once 
more  endeavor  to  revive  their  courage  and  lift  them  up  on 
their  trembling  feet.  Such  a  one  cries  to  him  :  "  I  am  not 
able  to  walk  alone ;  though  I  feel  confident  that  —  pro- 
vided you  will  keep  hold  of  my  hand,  and  help  me  over 
the  rough  places  a  little  longer  —  the  time  is  not  far  dis- 
tant when  I  shall  be  independent."  Or  if  men  tempo- 
rarily brought  into  pinching  need  from  no  fault  of  theirs, 
came  to  him  for  sympathy  and  help,  they  rarely  went 
away  without  the  grateful  consciousness  of  having  met  a 
warm  heart  and  bountiful  hand. 

He  was  by  no  means  without  the  ordinary  experience 
also  of  the  thanklessness  of  some  who  proved  unworthy  of 
his  gifts;  but  not  seldom,  in  even  apparently  hopeless 
cases,  he  was  permitted  to  rejoice  in  the  final  success  of 
his  efforts.  Letters  among  his  papers,  and  lives  to-day 
filled  with  happiness,  or  that  long  since  closed  in  the  midst 
of  comfort  and  in  the  hopes  of  the  Gospel,  bear  fragrant 
testimony  to  his  Christian  faithfulness.  He  may  have  been 
often  deceived,  and  perhaps  have  leaned  to  the  side  of 
mercy  more  frequently  than  a  sterner  judgment  might 
approve;  but  if  a  collection  could  be  presented  of  the 
evidently  sincere  and  overflowing  expressions  of  gratitude 
that  came  to  him  from  a  vast  multitude  of  troubled  or 
despairing  hearts  in  every  phase  of  human  want,  —  from 
embarrassed  friends,  suffering  ministers,  helpless  widows, 
the  representatives  of  struggling  institutions,  and  causes  of 
every  character  and  from  every  section  of  the  country,  — 
they  would  in  themselves  form  a  striking  memorial.  But 
beyond  all  such  records  it  may  well  be  that  his  long  pros- 
perity in  business,  his  success  in  religious  work,  and  his  joy 


FRIENDSHIP.  3OI 

in  Christ,  were  due,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  continual  petitions 
that  arose  to  the  Throne  from  the  grateful  lips  of  so  many 
who  learned  to  find  in  him  the  friend  they  needed, — certainly 
the  buoyant  happiness  that  unceasingly  flowed  into  his  own 
heart  was  a  fresh  proof  of  the  sure  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
that  "  he  who  waters  others,  shall  himself  be  watered." 

It  was  characteristic  of  him  to  cling  to  his  friends  with 
tenacious  and  outspoken  affection.  He  loved  others,  and 
was  loved  in  return  abundantly  and  by  great  numbers.  It 
falls  to  the  lot  of  few  perhaps  to  have  had  so  wide  and 
varied  a  circle  of  personal  and  warmly  attached  friends. 
They  belonged  to  every  grade  and  condition  of  life,  and 
could  be  found  in  foreign  lands  as  well  as  in  every  part  of 
his  own  country.  He  met  every  one  cordially  and  simply, 
without  any  trace  of  affectation  or  air  of  offensive  superior- 
ity. It  was  not  difficult  for  him  to  adapt  himself  to  the 
company  in  which  he  happened  to  be  at  the  moment.  He 
could  enter  heartily  and  at  once  into  whatever  interested 
others,  and  it  was  not  merely  because  he  was  fortunate  in- 
possessing  an  amiable  disposition,  —  he  had  learned  to 
forget  himself.  There  was  also  a  transparent  genuineness 
in  his  character  that  attracted  young  and  old.  It  could 
be  justly  said  of  him  :  "  Profession  and  inward  feeling  cor- 
responded. He  was  the  same  at  the  centre  as  at  the 
circumference." 

He  was  singularly  happy  in  giving  reproof.  He  spoke 
or  wrote  at  such  times  with  so  much  tenderness  and  deli- 
cacy, so  frankly  and  yet  so  utterly  without  officiousness  or 
assumption  of  extraordinary  sanctity,  that  offence  seemed 
almost  impossible.  The  sting  of  the  accusation  was  gone. 
There  was  room  for  little  else  but  confession  and  self-con- 
demnation. When  he  was  still  a  young  man  he  received 
a  letter  acknowledging  the  justice  of  some  charges  he  had 
felt  obliged  to  make ;  and  the  writer  closes  with  these 
words :  "  My  sincere  prayer  is  that  when  you  stand  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  the  evidences  of  your 


302  SYMPATHY. 

Christian  character  are  required,  this  letter  which  you  have 
written  to  me  in  so  kind  and  faithful  and  Christian  a  spirit, 
may  be  brought  up  before  angels  and  men."  He  was 
always  anxious  to  avoid  wounding  the  feelings  of  others, 
and  he  sometimes  seemed  to  find  or  make  it  less  difficult 
than  most  men  to  live  up  to  the  Gospel  standard  of  loving 
one's  enemies.  When  accusations  were  brought  against 
him  in  public  or  private,  -or  when  he  had  received  any 
unprovoked  and  deliberate  injury,  he  would  usually  try  to 
suggest  some  charitable  construction  ;  and  unless  justice  per- 
emptorily demanded  it,  the  offender  was  seldom  prosecuted, 
while  the  first  honest  indication  of  repentance  or  desire  for 
reconciliation  saw  him  ready  to  extend  a  forgiving  hand. 

He  was  a  bright  and  cheery  visitor  in  the  sick-room, 
and  was  himself  an  admirable  nurse.  When  bereavement 
darkened  the  home  of  a  friend,  he  was  generally  among 
the  earliest  to  offer  sympathy  and  to  carry  to  those  who 
were  mourning,  the  comfort  born  of  his  own  Christian 
faith  and  his  frequent  personal  experience  of  sorrow. 

Shortly  after  his  death,  a  letter  to  his  wife,  conveying 
expressions  of  sympathy,  quoted  words  Mr.  Dodge  him- 
self had  used  to  the  writer  when  under  a  somewhat  similar 
affliction :  — 

"  I  want  you,  my  dear  friend,  to  know  how  deeply  Mrs.  Dodge 
and  myself  sympathize  with  you.  May  He  who  has  so  suddenly 
afflicted,  grant  you  the  support  which  none  but  He  can  give.  Try 
and  be  thankful  for  all  the  blessings  of  the  past  which  you  have 
unitedly  enjoyed,  and  trust  the  same  kind  Hand  (who  does  not 
afflict  willingly)  for  all  the  future." 

It  was  a  pleasure  for  Mr.  Dodge  to  offer  the  hospitali- 
ties of  his  home.  He  particularly  enjoyed  any  opportunity 
to  entertain  Christian  friends,  and  one  would  continually 
find  at  his  table  ministers,  missionaries,  and  men  and 
women  engaged  in  religious  and  benevolent  work.  Friends 
from  England  were  often  his  guests.  The  Rev.  Newman 


HOSPITALITY.  303 

Hall,  LL.B.,  of  London,  spent  many  weeks  under  his  roof, 
and  was  warmly  beloved  by  Mr.  Dodge  for  his  personal 
qualities,  his  evangelical  spirit  and  labors,  and  for  his 
efforts,  emphatically  during  the  late  war,  to  strengthen  the 
ties  of  friendship  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Dodge  co-operated  heartily  in  securing  funds 
for  the  erection  of  Lincoln  Tower  in  connection  with  Christ 
Church,  where  Mr.  Hall  preaches  to  large  congregations, 
and  where  such  a  monument  to  the  martyred  President 
would  honor  the  cause  of  freedom  and  emancipation,  and 
stand  also  as  a  lasting  testimony  to  the  true  sentiments  of 
regard  existing  between  the  people  of  the  two  countries. 

The  Rev.  William  Arthur,  D.D.,  one  of  the  prominent 
leaders  of  the  VVesleyan  Church  in  England,  and  with  whom 
an  acquaintance  was  formed  during  an  Atlantic  voyage,  re- 
mained part  of  a  winter  at  Mr.  Dodge's  house  in  the  city, 
and  prepared  there  his  work  entitled  "  The  Tongue  of 
Fire."  On  his  return  home,  he  wrote  from  London,  Feb.  I, 
1856:  — 

"  I  have  no  terms  strong  enough  in  which  to  convey  my  grati- 
tude and  affection  to  the  family  circle  at  Dodge  Hall,  Murray  Hill. 
Never  shall  I  forget  those  delightful  days  of  repose,  comfort,  and 
Christian  cheerfulness,  during  which  I  so  steadily  rose  from  feeble- 
ness to  strength.  Many  a  time  will  my  prayers  go  up  that  peace 
may  ever  crown  that  cheerful  home  and  the  onward  way  of  all  the 
younger  members  of  the  house." 

At  the  country  home  in  Tarrytown,  also,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dodge  welcomed  many  friends  from  abroad.  Sir  Charles 
Reed,  for  many  years  chairman  of  the  London  School 
Board,  was  their  guest,  both  in  the  city  and  country,  at  the 
time  of  the  general  convention  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance 
in  1873. 

In  reply  to  an  invitation  to  visit  Tarrytown  once  more 
before  sailing,  he  writes  from  Newburyport:  "  Your  kind- 
ness does  not  surprise  me,  and  your  argument  decides  me. 
I  have  a  yearning  to  come  again  under  your  roof;  "  and 


304  SOCIAL  INFLUENCE. 

from  the  steamer,  as  he  was  nearing  England,  he  writes 
to  thank  Mr.  Dodge  for  pleasant  introductions  to  fellow- 
passengers  :  "  How  I  sigh  for  my  dear  home,  you  may 
imagine.  How  I  regret  the  parting  with  dear  American 
friends,  I  can  never  tell.  I  wish  I  could  think  it  possible 
that  in  the  providence  of  God  I  might  see  Tarrytown  again." 
The  Rev.  John  Stoughton,  D.D.,  who  was  a  guest  at  the 
same  time,  writes  from  London,  Oct.  30,  1873  :  — 

"  What  shall  I  say  in  return  for  all  your  kindness,  love,  and 
hospitality?  My  heart  is  overflowing  with  gratitude  to  you  and 
our  heavenly  Father.  May  he  abundantly  bless  you  and  yours, 
and  return  into  your  bosoms  a  thousandfold  for  all  your  attentions. 
Madison  Avenue  and  Tarrytown  will  always  live  brightly  and  beau- 
tifully in  my  memory.  My  dear  love  to  your  wife  and  family, 
whom  I  shall  ever  prize  amongst  my  most  precious  friends." 

The  visits  of  others  also  from  England  were  cherished 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge  as  delightful  memories. 

A  friend  from  New  York,  belonging  to  a  different  relig- 
ious body,  and  who  had  come  out  with  a  party  to  spend 
the  day  at  their  home  on  the  Hudson,  speaks  of  the  influ- 
ence Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge  were  exerting  in  extending  such 
hospitalities :  — 

"  Do  you  know  how  much  you  are  doing  in  your  quiet  way  to 
mellow  the  spirit  of  Christian  sociability  ?  How  strange  it  is  that 
in  our  narrow  denominationalism  we  so  often  fancy  that  we  alone 
are  of  the  elect !  To  you  has  been  so  blessedly  given  the  opportu- 
nity of  exemplifying  the  '  common  salvation  '  and  the  grace  that 
makes  all  one  in  Him." 

Mr.  Dodge  obeyed,  to  the  fullest  extent,  the  injunction, 
"  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might."  This  was  even  the  more  intensified  during  the 
last  one  or  two  years  of  his  life,  as  if  the  shadows  of  the 
coming  night,  when  earthly  work  must  cease,  were  uncon- 
sciously gathering  about  him.  Any  duty  pressing  upon 
his  mind  was  discharged  at  the  first  opportunity,  particu- 


HIS   "MOTTO." 


305 


larly  if  it  concerned  the  spiritual  welfare  of  any  one.  Two 
or  three  letters  on  religious  subjects,  addressed  to  friends 
not  long  before  his  death,  were  written  on  Sunday  even- 
ings, when,  though  somewhat  exhausted,  he  felt  such  a 
weight  of  anxiety  that  he  aroused  himself  and  said,  with 
characteristic  earnestness,  "  I  will  do  it  now." 

A  friend  temporarily  at  the  South,  writing  the  day  after 
Mr.  Dodge's  death,  refers  to  one  of  these  evidences  of 
affectionate  faithfulness :  — 

"  I  had  received  and  read  the  most  tender  letter  from  him,  and 
of  such  wise  admonition  that  I  could  but  believe  it  the  offering  of 
a  most  earnest  friend.  A  short  half-hour  later,  and  the  message 
came  that  the  hand  which  penned  it,  had  ceased  its  work.  It  was 
impossible  to  believe  it  until  again  repeated  by  telegraph." 

In  trying  to  counsel  or  encourage  others,  Mr.  Dodge, 
in  his  later  years,  frequently  quoted  a  verse  he  found  in 
the  corner  of  a  newspaper  when  he  was  travelling  in  the 
cars.  "  It  has  no  name,"  —  he  writes  to  one  he  was 
urging  "to  try  it,"  —  "and  it  was  only  a  single  verse;  but 
both  wife  and  I  committed  it  to  memory,  and  have  repeated 
it  many  hundred  times  since,  and  it  has  been  a  wonderful 
comfort :  — 

"  Build  a  full,  firm  fence  of  faith 

All  about  to-day, 
Fill  it  in  with  useful  works, 

And  within  it  stay. 
Look  not  through  the  sheltering  bars, 

Anxious  for  to-morrow  ; 
God  will  help,  whatever  comes, 

Be  it  joy  or  sorrow." 

Among  others,  Mr.  Dodge  repeated  this  verse  to  the 
pastor  of  a  New  York  mission  church  in  which  he  was 
much  interested,  and  where  he  was  well  known.  The 
incident  and  verse  were  referred  to  in  an  address  to  the 
congregation  ;  and  so  many  inquiries  were  made  for  it  that 
it  was  printed  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  who  always 
called  it  "  Mr.  Dodge's  motto." 


306          REGARD  FOR  THE  SABBATH. 

It  was  a  remark  of  Bishop  Hall  that  "  God  will  not 
glorify  himself  with  cowards.  As  the  timorous  shall  be 
without  the  gates  of  heaven,  so  shall  they  be  without  the 
lists  of  God's  field."  Mr.  Dodge  could  not  be  classed 
among  the  timorous.  He  had  both  physical  and  moral 
courage.  Dangers  encountered  in  the  path  of  duty  gave 
him  little  anxiety.  In  his  constant  travels,  and  at  other 
times,  exigencies  were  resolutely  faced  that  some  might 
have  tried  to  avoid;  while  in  questions  that  involved 
principle,  few  doubted  where  he  would  stand. 

When  it  was  announced  that  the  Hell  Gate  explosion 
to  remove  a  reef  impeding  navigation  would  take  place  on 
Sunday,  Mr.  Dodge  published  in  the  "  Tribune  "  an  open 
letter  to  the  engineer  in  charge,  protesting  against  the 
selection  of  such  a  day  for  this  public  display,  pronoun- 
cing it  a  needless  desecration  by  an  officer  of  the  Govern- 
ment. A  discourteous  reply  was  returned,  and  considerable 
comment  was  occasioned  in  the  papers,  the  better  senti- 
ment of  the  community,  however,  fully  sustaining  Mr. 
Dodge.  The  course  he  pursued  in  retiring  from  railroad 
corporations  that  persisted  in  violating  the  Sabbath,  has 
already  been  mentioned.  He  joined  with  others  in  remon- 
strating against  the  opening  of  public  exhibitions  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  he  used  his  influence  to  preserve  its  sacred 
character  in  manufacturing  and  other  companies  with 
which  he  was  connected.  At  one  time  he  examined  care- 
fully into  the  possibility  of  stopping  blast-furnaces  on  Sun- 
day. He  made  extensive  inquiries  in  this  country  and  in 
England,  and  once  offered  five  hundred  dollars  to  those  in 
charge  of  a  certain  furnace  if  they  would  discover  some 
method  by  which  work  could  be  suspended  during  that 
day.  He  was  finally  compelled  to  accept  the  conclusion 
that,  at  present,  such  labor  must  be  regarded  as  necessary, 
although  unquestionably  much  might  be  done  to  lessen 
the  amount  of  work.  He  regarded  the  Sabbath  as  an 
institution  resting  upon  Divine  authority  and  to  be 


REGARD   FOR   THE   SABBATH.  307 

devoted  to  the  worship  of  God  and  the  spiritual  interests  of 
men ;  at  the  same  time  he  claimed  that  its  due  observance 
would  bring  physical  and  economical  profit  to  all.  Yet 
his  views  of  the  obligations  of  the  day  were  not  such  as  to 
prevent  him  from  doing  anything  that  charity  or  mercy 
clearly  demanded,  or  that  might  be  essential  for  the  public 
welfare.  The  following  incident  was  related  after  his 
death :  — 

"  Colonel  Legrand  B.  Cannon  was  chief  of  staff  for  General 
Wool  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  did  as  much  as  any  other  one 
man  in  New  York  to  secure  the  equipment  and  despatch  of  troops 
to  the  seat  of  war.  On  Sunday,  April  28,  1861,  a  little  over  a  week 
after  the  assault  by  the  Baltimore  mob  on  the  Massachusetts  Sixth, 
Colonel  Cannon  went  to  the  house  of  a  friend  in  Fifth  Avenue  to 
state  an  urgent  case  to  him.  In  substance  he  said  to  him  :  '  You 
are  well  acquainted  with  William  E.  Dodge,  —  his  intimate  friend. 
Our  great  need  here  is  arms  for  our  troops.  I  have  found  in 
Canada  twenty-five  thousand  stand  of  arms,  which  we  can  get 
as  a  loan  if  we  give  an  indemnity  bond  for  their  return,  or  that  they 
will  be  paid  for.  I  can  obtain  all  the  signers  I  want  if  Mr.  Dodge 
will  sign  it.  I  know  he  would  sign  it  on  Monday,  but  I  know 
how  strict  he  is  about  Sunday.  Yet  the  matter  is  urgent.  If  I  can 
get  the  bond  ready  to-night,  I  can  have  the  arms  here  in  three 
days.'  The  friend  undertook  to  go  with  him  to  Mr.  Dodge.  The 
Colonel  stated  his  case  there  as  eloquently  as  before,  and  Mr. 
Dodge  turned  to  his  desk  and  signed  the  bond,  saying  as  he  did 
so,  '  I  do  not  see  how  I  could  do  a  better  deed  on  Sunday.'  " 

To  Mr.  Dodge  personally,  the  Sabbath  was,  in  every 
sense,  the  chief  day  of  the  week.  He  joyfully  welcomed 
its  dawning ;  and  when  he  came  down  to  join  the  family,  his 
face  usually  wore  a  bright  expression  of  restfulness  and 
glad  expectation.  He  seemed  to  lay  aside  altogether  the 
wearisome  burdens  of  the  week,  and  to  find  inexpressible 
relief  in  entering  eagerly  upon  the  privileges  and  duties  of 
the  day.  It  was  to  him  no  time  for  mere  leisure.  At  the 
common  morning  supplications  he  would  often  use  the 


308  DEVOTIONAL  READING. 

words,  "This  is  the  day  the  Lord  hath  made;  we  will 
rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it."  It  is  "  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  and 
honorable."  And  he  endeavored  to  honor  it  by  holy 
activity  and  religious  services  and  conversation,  and  by 
such  reading  as  would  insure  spiritual  improvement.  At 
the  period  when  two  sessions  of  the  Sunday-school  were 
held,  he  was  present  at  both,  and  also  at  church  morning 
and  afternoon,  while  the  evening  was  specially  devoted  to 
his  children.  When  he  ceased  to  be  a  superintendent  he 
sometimes  made  addresses  at  mission-schools  or  evange- 
listic meetings  in  the  afternoon  or  evening.  More  time 
was  given  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  on  that  day,  with  the 
aid  of  Henry  Scott,  or  Barnes,  or  some  other  commen- 
tator. The  "  Observer  "  and  the  "  Evangelist"  were  sure 
to  be  read,  and  perhaps  a  missionary  magazine,  or  some 
biography  or  religious  work.  His  daily  devotional  read- 
ing usually  included  practical  and  suggestive  explanations 
of  the  Bible,  such  as  the  Morning  and  Evening  Exer- 
cises by  Jay  or  Spurgeon.  The  last  book  of  this  descrip- 
tion he  used  was  entitled  "  Daily  Light,"  a  short  collection 
of  passages  from  Scripture,  illustrating  themes  suited  for 
personal  meditation  and  quickening. 

During  his  later  years  it  was  the  custom  of  his  children 
and  grandchildren,  living  in  the  city,  to  call  at  the  house 
on  their  way  home  from  morning  service ;  and  these  family 
greetings  on  Sabbath  noons  were  greatly  enjoyed  by  Mr. 
Dodge,  while  his  glad  welcome  made  it  a  bright  hour  for 
all.  In  later  years,  also,  quite  as  much  as  when  he  was 
younger,  his  busy  life  did  not  allow  much  time  for  the 
ordinary  literature  of  the  day ;  but  he  was  always  glad  to 
obtain  compressed  information  upon  all  important  ques- 
tions, and  when  his  father  was  living  as  a  retired  merchant, 
with  leisure  and  taste  for  study,  Mr.  Dodge  would  often 
bring  him  a  new  book  and  say,  "  Please  read  this  for  me, 
and  then  give  me  a  homoeopathic  dose  of  it."  He  was 
always  on  the  alert  for  any  facts  bearing  upon  subjects 


INDIFFERENCE  TO  FAME.  309 

which  most  interested  him,  and  his  pocket-book  was  apt 
to  contain  a  variety  of  slips  from  newspapers,  with  statis- 
tics relating  to  iron,  lumber,  railroads,  temperance,  Sunday- 
schools,  and  other  matter  picked  up  in  his  daily  reading. 

Mr.  Dodge  concerned  himself  very  little  about  his  future 
fame.  He  wished  to  maintain  an  honorable  standing 
among  men,  and  he  cherished  a  generous  ambition  to 
excel  in  legitimate  lines  of  business ;  but  he  was  absolutely 
absorbed  in  the  duties  immediately  at  hand.  Yet  the  vivid 
sense  of  responsibility  which  marked  all  he  did,  was  not 
always  consciously  present  perhaps,  certainly  not  as  a 
heavy  burden  or  harassing  goad.  It  was  a  cheerful,  glad 
service  he  rendered,  and  he  left  the  results  to  his  Master. 
Whether  his  prominence  in  any  particular  work  would  be 
recognized  by  men  sooner  or  later,  or  never,  scarcely 
seemed  to  enter  his  thoughts.  Once  when  importuned  for 
a  gift  to  some  object,  the  applicant  urged  the  common 
plea  that  the  proposed  institution  should  bear  his  name. 
His  reply  was  promptly  made :  "  I  want  nothing  named 
after  me  but  my  children." 

He  unhesitatingly  and  habitually  attributed  any  success 
he  may  have  had  in  worldly  matters  or  in  his  religious 
efforts  to  the  favor  of  God.  Writing  to  the  Rev.  Horace 
Eaton,  D.D.  (July  24,  1880),  in  reply  to  a  letter  recalling 
their  early  associations  in  the  Sixth  Street  Church,  he 
says : — 

"Oh,  how  God  has  led  us  from  these  small  beginnings,  and 
helped  us  to  do  something  for  the  advancement  of  his  cause  ! 
Soon  we  shall  be  done  with  the  earthly  work ;  but  we  will  keep 
doing  so  long  as  God  gives  us  strength." 

However  adverse  and  distracting  the  circumstances,  this 
seemed  to  be  the  prevailing  attitude  of  his  mind,  —  readi- 
ness "  to  do  something,"  whatever  presented  itself  for  the 
glory  of  God,  accompanied  with  a  firm  reliance  upon  him 
for  guidance  and  results. 


310  INTEREST  IN  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

A  few  days  previous  to  his  death,  when  he  was  still  in 
apparently  his  usual  health,  he  was  walking  up  and  down 
their  long  parlors  with  his  wife,  and  in  the  conversation 
made  this  remark:  — 

"  Whichever  of  us  should  be  taken  first,  let  the  other  show  a 
cheerful  obedience  to  God's  will  and  go  on  with  our  work." 

It  is  noticeable  that  during  the  wearisome  delays  at 
Washington,  and  the  vexatious  incidents  connected  with 
the  contest  for  his  seat  in  Congress,  Mr.  Dodge's  attention 
was  much  occupied  with  religious  interests  at  home  and 
elsewhere.  He  writes  to  his  wife,  Washington,  March 
17,  1866:  — 

"  Your  kind  letters,  almost  daily  received,  give  me  real  joy,  and 
make  it  easier  to  bear  the  separation.  I  am  delighted  to  hear  of 
the  continued  interest  in  the  prayer-meetings  at  our  church,  and 
can  but  hope  it  may  extend  to  all  the  churches.  Our  dear  son  is 
ever  on  my  mind,  and  my  prayers  go  up  with  yours  daily  that  God 
would  come  into  our  family.  I  had  a  letter  yesterday  from  the 
President  of  Dartmouth  College.  There  is  a  precious  work  going 
on  among  the  students,  and  his  study  is  often  visited  by  those  who 
ask  what  they  shall  do  to  be  saved,  —  one,  an  infidel,  has  come  out 
brightly,  and  will  devote  his  life  to  the  ministry.  Two  letters  from 
Auburn,  from  my  students,  speak  of  the  great  work  in  Elmira  and 
other  places  in  western  New  York." 

On  the  i  Qth  of  March  he  again  writes :  — 

"  I  am  again  disappointed  and  very  much  tried,  but  hope  I  may 
still  submit  with  good  grace.  I  had  every  reason  to  expect  the 
report  would  be  presented  this  morning ;  but  the  Democratic  mem- 
ber asked  for  more  time,  and  I  now  see  plainly  that  another  week 
will  be  used  up.  I  attended  a  very  interesting  prayer-meeting  at 
Dr.  Smith's  lecture-room.  A  good  deal  of  feeling  was  apparent 
there,  and  I  talked  with  two  dear  girls,  one  twelve  and  the  other 
fourteen,  their  mother  sitting  with  them.  When  the  meeting  was 
over,  I  asked  them  a  few  questions ;  and  they  at  once  became 
affected,  and  Dr.  Smith  and  myself  remained  and  talked  and 


NO  DREAD  OF  DEATH.  31! 

prayed  with  them.    They  were  members  of  the  Sunday-school  and 
very  intelligent." 

Again  on  the  22d :  — 

"  Let  us  all  keep  near  the  Mercy-seat,  pleading  that  our  dear  one 
may  press  forward  and  at  once  submit  to  the  Saviour.  I  long  to 
be  with  you,  but  cannot  yet." 

Also  on  the  2;th  :  — 

"  I  am  attending  the  prayer- meetings  every  evening,  and  find  it 
a  great  comfort  when  deprived  of  the  privilege  at  home.  The 
pastor  seems  much  encouraged  by  my  being  among  his  people, 
and  I  trust  God  will  make  me  useful.  I  cannot  but  hope  my  case, 
which  was  yesterday  reported  and  ordered  to  be  printed  and  set 
down  for  Thursday,  will  come  up  and  be  decided.  One  of  my 
opponent's  friends  moved  to  put  it  off  two  weeks ;  but  the  House 
would  not  entertain  the  proposition.  I  look  for  a  severe  struggle, 
but  leave  it  for  those  who  now  have  it  in  charge,  and  more 
than  all  in  the  hands  of  that  kind  Providence  to  whom  I  have 
committed  it." 

While  he  had  no  anxious  dread  of  death,  it  was  far  from 
his  expectation  that  any  sudden  summons  would  come. 
Apparently  he  had  anticipated  a  closing  scene  in  the  quiet 
of  his  own  chamber  and  surrounded  by  those  he  loved. 

He  wrote  in  regard  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Adams, 
whom  he  warmly  esteemed :  — 

"  I  have  felt  since  his  death  that  I  had  lost  one  of  my  dearest 
friends.  I  had  hoped  he  would  have  lived  to  be  at  my  bedside 
when  called  to  look  death  in  the  face ;  and  I  had  told  my  wife 
that,  next  to  my  own  family,  I  wanted  Dr.  Adams  to  hold  my  hand 
and  give  me  his  sweet  words  as  I  passed  away." 

The  last  few  months  of  Mr.  Dodge's  life  saw  no  abate- 
ment of  his  accustomed  activity,  and  the  few  days  previ- 
ous to  the  final  week  of  confinement  to  the  house  were 
unusually  filled  with  engagements,  although  there  was  a 
perceptible  loss  of  strength,  and  what  he  accomplished  was 
rather  from  his  habitual  and  indomitable  force  of  will.  In 


312  LAST   DAYS. 

addition  to  his  ordinary  business  matters,  there  were  just 
at  that  time  some  questions  that  required  special  atten- 
tion. He  was  also  occupied  with  his  religious  and  benev- 
olent efforts.  Among  other  appointments,  he  attended, 
January  29,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College,  of  which  he  was  treasurer.  On 
the  evening  of  the  3Oth  he  delivered  a  long  address  at  the 
Union  Tabernacle  in  Thirty-fifth  Street.  The  following 
day,  one  of  the  letters  he  wrote  was  an  urgent  appeal  to  a 
friend  in  behalf  of  some  of  the  colored  institutions  in  the 
South,  and  in  the  evening  he  was  present  at  a  meeting  of 
the  session  of  the  Church  of  the  Covenant.  Thursday, 
February  I,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodge  held  an  afternoon  recep- 
tion at  their  city  residence,  and  it  was  remarked  that  he 
never  appeared  more  cheerful,  active,  and  entertaining. 
He  always  delighted  to  greet  old  friends,  and  on  this  occa- 
sion an  unusually  large  number  had  gathered.  In  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  although  evidently  fatigued,  he 
complied  with  the  special  request  of  Mr.  Peter  Cooper  to 
aid  him  in  presiding  at  a  great  public  meeting  in  Cooper 
Union  Hall  in  favor  of  the  protection  of  American  indus- 
tries. He  was  at  his  office  the  next  day,  and  in  the  after- 
noon attended  a  directors'  meeting  of  a  railway  company, 
but  chiefly  to  assist  in  securing  the  promotion  of  a  young 
man  in  whom  he  was  interested.  That  evening  he  went 
to  the  preparatory  lecture  at  his  own  church.  Saturday 
morning  he  was  occupied  at  the  house  with  a  long  consul- 
tation in  reference  to  one  of  his  largest  lumber  properties, 
and  in  the  afternoon  he  accompanied  his  wife  to  visit  the 
lately  established  Home  for  Inebriate  Women.  While 
there  he  was  seized  with  violent  pain.  Remedies  applied 
by  the  physician  in  charge  of  the  institution  gave  tempo- 
rary relief,  and  Mr.  Dodge  returned  at  once  to  his  own 
house.  During  the  night  and  for  one  or  two  days  the  severe 
paroxysms  were  repeated  at  intervals,  but  they  finally  ap- 
peared to  yield  to  medical  treatment.  He  spent  most  of 


LAST  DAYS.  313 

the  time  in  his  library  up-stairs,  seeing  members  of  the 
family  and  occasional  visitors,  reading,  and  giving  direc- 
tions respecting  affairs  at  the  office.  His  last  attention  to 
any  business  was  in  connection  with  the  individual  prop- 
erty of  his  wife.  He  always  made  it  a  rule  to  keep  her 
personal  pecuniary  matters  absolutely  distinct  from  his 
own,  and  he  took  special  pride  and  pleasure  in  overseeing 
their  investment  and  accumulation.  He  was  now  anxious 
to  verify  some  accounts  relating  to  one  of  these  transac- 
tions; and  though  urged  to  defer  so  wearisome  a  task,  he 
spent  three  or  four  hours,  aided  by  one  of  his  sons,  in  dil- 
igent examination  of  the  papers.  His  mind  never  seemed 
more  alert,  and  each  calculation  was  followed  with  unusual 
clearness  and  rapidity;  but  when  the  final  result  was  con- 
firmed he  was,  while  much  gratified,  unmistakably  ex- 
hausted. This  was  on  Wednesday,  the  /th  instant.  Late 
that  evening  there  were  sharp  returns  of  pain,  and  the 
doctor  again  administered  opiates.  The  next  day  he  was 
much  weaker,  but  took  some  nourishment  and  enjoyed 
seeing  several  friends.  No  special  apprehension  was  felt, 
and  he  himself  had  no  thought  of  being  compelled  to  re- 
main at  home  any  length  of  time.  He  had  already  made 
social  and  public  engagements  for  the  days  immediately 
before  him.  He  was  anticipating  much  pleasure  in  being 
present  at  the  dinner  to  be  given,  on  the  I2th  of  February, 
by  the  Hon.  Abram  S.  Hewitt  in  honor  of  Mr.  Peter 
Cooper's  ninety-second  birthday.  He  had  been  asked  to 
deliver  on  the  same  evening  an  address  of  welcome  to 
Governor  St.  John  at  a  temperance  mass-meeting.  He  had 
promised  to  repeat,  on  the  I3th  instant,  at  the  Calvary 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  his  lec- 
ture on  "  Old  New  York."  He  had  also  arranged  for  a 
journey  to  the  South,  partly  with  the  object  of  visiting 
some  of  the  educational  institutions  among  the  colored 
people.  Upon  retiring,  however,  he  experienced  a  recur- 
rence of  the  former  symptoms,  but  finally  passed  a  com- 


314  DEATH. 

fortable  night,  and  arose  at  almost  his  customary  hour, 
apparently  much  refreshed.  When  nearly  dressed,  he 
asked,  in  his  usual  pleasant  tone,  for  "Joseph's  coat,"  —  a 
morning  wrapper  to  which  he  gave  this  title  on  account  of 
its  many  colors.  As  his  wife  was  looking  for  it,  she  heard 
him  speak  her  name  in  a  startled,  anxious  manner.  She 
hastened  to  his  dressing-room,  to  find  him  just  sinking  to 
the  floor.  Others  also  heard  the  call,  and  a  son  near  at 
hand  was  quickly  at  his  side  and  raised  the  fallen  head 
and  form,  while  his  wife  ran  for  restoratives.  One  bewil- 
dered look  from  the  fast-closing  eyes,  as  if  they  sought 
once  more  the  beloved  face  and  hand  that  had  so  often 
brought  relief,  one  or  two  short  sighs,  and  he  was  beyond 
all  need  of  earthly  ministrations. 

Physicians  were  soon  at  the  house,  but  only  to  confirm 
the  too-evident  and  overwhelming  fact  Members  of  the 
family  hastily  gathered,  unable  to  believe  that  one  so  dear 
had  actually  passed  away ;  and  the  swift  tidings  went  forth 
as  a  sudden  and  painful  shock  to  the  wide  circle  of  friends 
and  the  community  at  large. 

The  immediate  cause  was  declared  to  be  failure  of  the 
heart  to  act,  from  exhaustion  of  vital  force ;  but  this  pain- 
less, almost  instantaneous,  release  was  recognized  by  all  to 
be  a  fitting  end  of  such  a  life.  Reference  to  it  was  fre- 
quent in  the  notices  of  his  death. 

"  It  was  a  beautiful  close  of  a  long,  grand,  blessed,  and  blessing 
life.  Happy,  thrice  happy  man  !  Happy  in  birth,  youth,  man- 
Rev,  s.  i.  hood,  old  age,  and  death  !  He  lives  in  a  noble  exam- 
PRIME,  D.D.  p]e>  an(j  multitudes  in  all  lands,  of  many  colors  and 
climes,  will  mention  his  name  with  thanksgiving  for  the  life  and 
works  of  one  who  walked  with  God,  and  was  not,  for  God  took 
him." 

"  The  very  last  act  of  his  long,  beautiful,  and  blessed  career 

was  the  visit  which  he  paid  with  his  wife  to  the  new  Christian 

Rev.  T.  L.      Home  for  Intemperate  Women,  which  was  just  being 

CUVLBR,  D.D.   Opene(j  m  this  city.     On  that  wintry  afternoon,  for  the 


DEATH. 


315 


last  time,  the  sweet  benediction  of  that  countenance  fell  upon  our 
city  streets.  From  that  afternoon  his  face,  like  the  face  of  his 
Divine  Master,  'was  as  though  he  would  go  up  to  Jerusalem.' 
When  he  entered  his  own  doorway,  towards  the  sundown,  the  sun 
of  his  beneficent  life  was  just  touching  the  horizon. 

"  On  Thursday,  February  8,  the  well-known  missionary,  Dr. 
Henry  H.  Jessup,  called  for  an  interview  with  Mr.  Dodge,  and 
found  him  suffering  from  weakness  and  spasmodic  pains.  He  said 
to  his  beloved  friend  Jessup  :  '  Henry,  take  warning  from  me,  and 
stop  overwork.'  The  next  morning  Dr.  Jessup  called  to  inquire 
after  his  condition ;  but  alas  !  the  '  overwork '  of  the  grandest  work- 
man in  the  land  had  been  '  stopped,'  and  stopped  by  the  finger  of 
the  Almighty.  The  workman  had  been  caught  up  to  meet  his  Lord 
in  the  air,  having  bequeathed  to  his  country  and  the  Church  of 
God  the  inheritance  of  his  liberal  gifts,  his  deeds,  his  prayers,  his 
stainless  example,  and  his  glorious  services  to  God  and  his  fellow- 
men.  William  E.  Dodge  fell  at  last  as  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of 
his  Master,  literally  worn  out  in  ceaseless,  restless,  unselfish  labors 
for  the  good  of  others." 

"  He  died  as  he  would  have  wished,  —  in  harness.  He 
dropped  at  his  post.  He  was  at  the  meeting  of  the  session  on 
the  Wednesday  evening  preceding  communion  of  the  Rev.  M.  R. 
first  Sabbath  in  February,  and  welcomed  with  joy-  VlNCENT.  D-D- 
ful  tears  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church  some  young  people 
who  had  made  profession  of  faith,  and  his  voice  led  his  brethren 
in  the  closing  prayer.  He  was  in  his  usual  place  at  the  pre- 
paratory lecture  on  the  ensuing  Friday  evening,  listening  with  his 
usual  attention,  and  with  evidences  of  deep  feeling.  The  writer 
visited  him  on  the  afternoon  before  his  death.  He  was  reclining 
on  his  lounge;  but  his  eye  was  bright,  and  he  spoke  with  his 
wonted  vivacity,  alluding  playfully  to  his  having  transgressed  in  the 
matter  of  overwork,  and  saying  that  he  supposed  he  had  been 
providentially  stopped  in  order  to  give  him  time  to  think.  He 
said  he  was  comfortably  sick ;  and  spoke  with  emotion  of  the 
blessings  and  solaces  with  which  he  was  surrounded,  responding 
heartily  to  the  quotation  of  the  dying  Wesley's  words,  '  The  best  of 
all  is,  God  is  with  us  ! '  The  messenger  found  him  with  his  lamp 
burning  and  his  loins  girded.  Only  a  few  weeks  before,  he  was  at 


316  DEATH. 

the  office  of  some  company  with  which  he  was  connected ;  and 
looking  around  at  the  portraits  of  the  deceased  members  which 
lined  the  room,  he  remarked  that  he  was  almost  the  only  one  left 
of  the  old  members,  and  added,  '  But  I  am  ready  ! '  Several  years 
ago  he  said  to  me,  '  By  the  grace  of  God  I  have  been  entirely 
delivered  from  the  fear  of  death.' " 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

FUNERAL  SERVICES  AND   ADDRESSES. 

A  FULL  account  of  the  funeral  services  appeared  in 
•iX  several  of  the  newspapers,  and  will  be  inserted  here ; 
the  addresses  being  given  as  they  were  spoken,  only  such 
passages  being  omitted  as  refer  chiefly  to  facts  mentioned 
elsewhere. 

"  The  funeral  was  held  at  the  Church  of  the  Covenant  on  Mon- 
day, the  1 2th  of  February,  at  10  A.M.,  and  was  one  of  the  most 
impressive  assemblages  that  could  be  gathered  from  the  best  rep- 
resentatives of  distinguished  worth  and  large  enterprise  in  all  the 
land.  The  large  edifice  was  thronged  in  every  part,  and  many  went 
away,  unable  to  gain  admission.  The  services  at  the  church  were 
preceded  by  a  short  devotional  service  at  the  house,  led  by  a 
nephew,  —  Dr.  Erskine  N.  White,  of  New  York.  After  the  rela- 
tives had  looked  for  the  last  time  on  the  face  of  Mr.  Dodge,  the 
coffin  was  closed,  and  was  carried  by  the  seven  sons  to  the  hearse. 
It  was  then  taken  to  the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  followed  by  car- 
riages containing  those  who  had  gathered  at  the  house.  The  pall- 
bearers were  :  A.  A.  Low,  Frederick  S.  Winston,  John  A.  Stewart, 
Samuel  Sloane,  S.  B.  Schieffelin,  Royal  Phelps,  Percy  R.  Pyne,  John 
Jay,  J.  D.  Jones,  W.  A.  Booth,  T.  B.  Coddington,  Samuel  D.  Bab- 
cock,  James  M.  Brown,  F.  H.  Cossit,  and  Charles  Butler.  They 
occupied  the  front  seats  in  the  left  aisle  ;  and  behind  them  sat  the 
delegations  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  faculty  and  students,  and  other  organizations. 

"  The  services  were  begun  by  the  Rev.  Washington  Choate,  of 
Irvington  (where  the  family  have  their  summer  residence),  who 
offered  prayer,  and  was  followed  by  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Marvin  R. 
Vincent,  D.D.,  who  gave  out  the  hymn  :  — 


3l8  FUNERAL  SERVICES  AND  ADDRESSES. 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done ! 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won, 
Enter  thy  Master's  joy. 

"  The  pains  of  death  are  past, 

Labor  and  sorrow  cease ; 
A  life-long  warfare  closed,  at  last 
His  soul  is  found  in  peace. 

"  Soldier  of  Christ,  well  done ! 

Blessed  be  thy  new  employ; 
And  while  eternal  ages  run, 
Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy. 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  S.  Irengeus  Prime  then  read  from  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians;  after  which  he 
said :  — 

"  These  little  books  ['  Daily  Light ']  which  I  hold  in  my  hand 
are  made  up  of  selections  of  Scripture  for  each  day  in  the  year. 
They  are  the  books  which  our  departed  and  beloved  friend  was  in 
the  habit  of  using ;  and  I  will  read  a  portion  of  the  passages  for 
the  day  on  which  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him  [February  9]  : 

Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord ;  they  rest  from  their  labors, 
and  their  works  do  follow  them. 

Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might ;  for  there  is 
no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave,  whither  thou 
goest. 

I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand. 
I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day. 

There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God.  For  he  that 
is  entered  into  his  rest,  he  also  hath  ceased  from  his  own  works,  as  God  did 
from  his. 

Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down ;  neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself : 
for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning 
shall  be  ended. 

He  will  swallow  up  death  in  victory;  and  the  Lord  God  will  wipe  away 
tears  from  off  all  faces ;  and  the  rebuke  of  his  people  shall  he  take  away  from 
off  all  the  earth. 

These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed 
their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are 
they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple  : 
and  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hunger 


FUNERAL  SERVICES  AND  ADDRESSES.  319 

no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any 
heat.  For  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and 
shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters. 

And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there  shall  be 
no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more 
pain  :  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away. 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock,  President  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary  in  New  York,  made  the  first  address.  He 
said :  — 

" '  Another  sudden  death  ! '  I  hear  some  one  say.  But  this  is 
not  death.  Twice  our  Lord  pronounced  it  only  sleep,  —  once  in 
Capernaum,  as  he  pitied  the  Jewish  elder  weeping  over  his  only 
daughter,  and  again  on  his  way  to  the  tomb  of  Lazarus  in  Bethany. 
'  He  slept  an  iron  sleep,'  says  Homer  of  a  Trojan  hero  slain  by  the 
hand  of  Agamemnon.  The  metaphor  was  then  already  current. 
But  our  Lord  gave  it  a  new  significance ;  and  straightway  the 
place  of  burial  became  only  a  sleeping-chamber.  '  Cemetery '  is  a 
Christian  word. 

"  Not  only  is  this  not  death,  neither  was  it  sudden.  Nor  can 
death,  in  a  painful  sense,  be  sudden  to  any  thoughtful  Christian 
man  that  has  passed  the  milestone  of  his  threescore  years.  Paul, 
by  dying  daily,  had  so  rehearsed  his  martyrdom  that  surprise  was 
at  last  impossible.  The  gleam  of  the  Roman  sword  at  the  Ostian 
Gate  was  like  the  smile  of  an  old  and  familiar  friend.  So  of  him 
whose  name  is  on  our  lips  to-day.  Quite  recently,  as  he  stood 
looking  at  some  portraits  of  men  whom  he  had  known  that  have 
passed  away,  he  said,  not  boastingly,  but  as  one  who  weighs  his 
words :  '  Well,  I  am  ready.'  Yes,  he  was  ready,  above  most  men 
that  you  or  I  have  ever  known.  Like  Barnabas,  '  He  was  a  good 
man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  of  faith.'  For  three  days  now 
he  has  been  in  what  we  term  '  the  other  world.'  I  would  give  all 
my  books  and  all  the  studies  of  my  life  if  I  could  only  know  just 
now  what  he  has  learned  in  ^hese  three  days. 

"  This  earthly  life  just  ended  so  happily,  had  also  a  very  happy 
beginning,  full  of  benediction  and  of  promise.  Our  departed 
friend,  who  carried  himself  always  so  graciously,  was  of  gentle 
blood,  refined  and  tempered  through  generations  of  outward  com- 
fort and  inward  culture.  The  blood  was  English  unmixed, — 
Puritan  English,  New  England  English.  The  original  American 


320  FUNERAL  SERVICES  AND  ADDRESSES. 

ancestor  of  the  family  was  William  Dodge,  of  Dorsetshire,  in  Eng- 
land, who  came  over  to  Salem  in  1629,  and  was  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  Massachusetts  Colony.  William  Earl  Dodge  was  in  the 
seventh  generation  of  this  descent.  His  father,  David  Low  Dodge, 
who  had  been  a  successful  merchant  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  where 
William  Earl  was  born  Sept.  4,  1805,  came  that  same  year  to  New 
York  and  established  the  firm  of  Higginson  &  Dodge.  They  had 
houses  in  Boston,  New  York,  Baltimore,  and  New  Orleans,  and 
were  the  leading  importers  and  jobbers  of  those  days.  The  firm 
were  large  ship-owners,  and  lost  heavily  by  the  embargo,  the  action 
of  Napoleon,  and  the  war  of  1812.  Withdrawing  from  the  firm, 
Mr.  David  Low  Dodge  retired  for  a  time  to  Norwich,  Conn.,  where 
he  built  one  of  the  first  cotton-mills  in  New  England.  In  1818 
he  returned  to  New  York,  established  the  new  firm  of  Ludlow  & 
Dodge,  and  in  1827  finally  retired  from  business,  devoting  the  rest 
of  his  life  to  literary  and  religious  work,  publishing  several  valuable 
books,  and  keeping  himself  well  up  in  the  theological  controversies 
of  the  day.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  old  Wall  Street  Church,  and 
with  Mr.  Robert  Lenox,  father  of  the  late  James  Lenox,  formed  the 
building  committee  of  the  new  edifice  in  Wall  Street.  His  wife, 
the  mother  of  William  Earl,  was  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Aaron 
Cleveland,  a  learned  minister  and  the  ancestor  of  many  distinguished 
and  leading  men.  Our  friend  was  always  grateful  for  his  erudite 
and  saintly  parentage,  and  always  honored  it  by  word  and  deed. 

"Returning  to  New  York  with  his  father  in  1818,  William  Earl 
Dodge  began  his  clerkship  in  a  dry-goods  store,  in  1827  set  up  for 
himself,  and  in  1833  became  identified  with  the  firm,  which  is  now 
historic,  of  Phelps,  Dodge,  &  Co.  Mr.  Dodge  had  married  a 
daughter  of  his  senior  partner,  — which  made  their  business  relations 
all  the  more  intimate  and  agreeable.  For  judgment,  energy,  and 
devotion  to  all  good  objects,  Anson  Green  Phelps  stood  conspicu- 
ous. His  son,  of  the  same  name,  and  our  friend  just  gone  from 
us,  were  brothers  indeed.  Mr.  Dodge  took  up  and  carried  on 
their  unfinished  work.  And  so,  for  more  than  sixty  years,  his  life 
was  closely  interwoven  with  the  life  of  this  great  metropolis,  which 
he  always  loved  and  honored,  and  which  always  loved  and  honored 
him.  The  time  has  not  yet  come  to  lift  the  veil  that  hides  the 
sacred  sweetness  and  beauty  of  his  cultured  and  charming  home. 
And  long  may  it  be  in  coming  ! 


FUNERAL   SERVICES   AND   ADDRESSES.  321 

"  Nor  have  I  time  to  speak  of  him  as  patriot  and  statesman,  re- 
calling those  days  of  bitter  and  bloody  civil  conflict  when  his  lithe 
form  stood  forth  so  stoutly,  and  his  voice  rang  out  so  clearly, 
through  the  howlings  of  the  storm.  He  was  elected  to  the  Thirty- 
ninth  National  Congress,  carried  his  Christian  character  with  him  to 
Washington,  and  brought  it  back  untarnished  and  unclouded.  For 
a  business  man  his  reading  was  wide  and  varied.  Well  informed, 
wise  in  counsel,  and  ready  of  utterance,  he  occupied  a  large  and 
prominent  place  in  the  best  life  of  the  city,  the  nation,  and  the  age. 

"  His  supreme  and  final  reputation  will  be  that  of  the  philanthro- 
pist. I  think  I  have  never  known  a  man  of  wider  charity,  who 
worked  along  so  many  lines,  and  did  so  much  unheralded  and  un- 
seen. No  form  of  human  want  or  weakness,  no  possibility  of  bene- 
fit to  others,  in  soul  or  body,  seemed  alien  to  him.  He  served  in 
the  ranks,  and  was  never  weary  in  well-doing.  Benefactions  so 
diversified,  so  lavish,  and  so  incessant,  and  yet  so  sagaciously  be- 
stowed, this  city  has  seldom,  if  ever,  witnessed.  For  one  institu- 
tion, an  institution  of  sacred  learning,  I  stand  here  to  speak  to-day, 
and  in  its  name  I  bless  his  precious  and  princely  memory.  Others 
will  speak  in  the  name  of  other  institutions  and  interests.  But 
when  our  voices  all  are  hushed,  the  half  will  not  have  been  told. 
God  only  knows  how  much  this  good  man  has  done. 

"  One  word  more.  I  see  in  his  unselfish  life  a  suggestion  in  soci- 
ology which  challenges  our  most  earnest  thought.  With  a  high 
and  ever-advancing  civilization,  equality  of  outward  condition  be- 
comes more  and  more  impossible.  But  marked  inequality  of  out- 
ward condition  is  the  angry  complaint  and  greatest  peril  of  our 
time.  Our  civilization  is  impotent  to  save  itself.  Only  one  thing 
can  save  it.  That  one  thing  is  wise,  patient,  unselfish  stewardship, 
such  as  we  commemorate  to-day.  God  be  thanked  for  another 
clean-earned  fortune  put  to  its  highest  use ;  for  another  eventful 
and  gracious  life  well  rounded  out.  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant ;  thou  hast  already  entered  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  !  At 
the  grave's  edge  we  say  to  thee,  '  Good  night ! '  Through  the  veil 
we  shout  to  thee,  '  Good  morning  ! ' 

"  After  Professor  Hitchcock,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins,  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  ex-president 
of  Williams  College,  spoke  as  follows  :  — 


322  FUNERAL  SERVICES   AND   ADDRESSES. 

" '  Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen 
this  day  in  Israel  ? '  If  we  adopt  the  standard  of  greatness  pro- 
posed by  our  Saviour,  — '  he  among  you  that  will  be  great,  shall  be 
servant  of  all,'  —  if  we  look  at  that  standard  of  greatness,  where  shall 
we  look  in  this  city,  where  shall  we  look  on  this  continent,  for  a 
more  princely  man,  for  a  man  more  illustriously  great,  than  he  whom 
we  mourn  to-day?  He  was  great  in  his  power  of  acquisition, 
combining  integrity  with  skill.  He  was  uniformly,  through  his  long 
life,  successful  in  business ;  and  success  in  business  amid  the  fluctu- 
ations of  this  country  for  so  long  a  period  does  not  come  by  acci- 
dent. But  acquisition  to  him  was  a  means,  and  not  an  end,  —  a 
means  to  the  manifestation  of  that  greatness  which  his  Master  com- 
mended and  commanded,  the  greatness  of  service,  of  giving  of  the 
fountain  that  overflows,  of  the  sun  that  radiates  light  and  heat. 
In  the  amount  of  his  benefactions  he  was  magnificent,  princely. 
I  do  not  know  what  the  princes  of  Europe  may  do,  but  I  doubt 
whether  one  of  them  gives  from  pure  beneficence  as  much  as  I  see 
it  stated  in  a  paper  by  one  who,  I  suppose,  knows  that  he  gave,  — 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  —  year  by  year.  I  do  not  know 
what  the  rich  men  of  this  country  may  do,  but  I  doubt  whether 
there  is  another  who  has  given  year  by  year  as  much  as  that.  He 
was  great  not  only  in  the  munificence  of  his  gifts,  but  in  the  breadth 
of  his  views,  in  the  largeness  of  his  apprehension  of  the  wants  of 
humanity,  and,  as  has  been  said,  in  the  judgment  with  which  he 
distributed  that  which  he  gave,  regardless  of  the  limitations  of  de- 
nominations or  of  sects,  or  of  the  methods  of  doing  good.  And 
here  it  becomes  me  to  speak  of  what  he  did  (as  my  brother  who 
has  preceded  me  has  spoken  for  the  institution  of  sacred  learning) 
for  me  personally,  and  of  what  he  did  for  Williams  College  ;  and 
more  especially  in  this  connection  it  becomes  me  to  speak  of  his 
long,  faithful,  and  enthusiastic  service  in  behalf  of  the  American 
Board.  No  one  who  attended  the  meeting  of  that  Board  at  Port- 
land last  autumn,  and  who  remembers  the  stillness  and  suspense 
which  came  over  the  vast  audience  when  an  appeal  for  increase  of 
funds  was  made,  will  ever  forget  the  tenderness  and  the  simplicity 
with  which  Mr.  Dodge  said,  '  I  will  double  my  subscription  for  the 
coming  year,'  and  the  rapidity  with  which  the  movement  passed 
over  the  assembly,  calling  forth  a  similar  response.  He  was  re- 
markable for  his  combination  of  business  and  religion  with  all  the 


FUNERAL  SERVICES  AND  ADDRESSES.  323 

amenities  of  social  life.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  zeal  in  evangel- 
ical religion,  without  a  touch  of  fanaticism.  He  was  remarkable  for 
his  position  on  the  temperance  question,  giving  without  stint  for 
the  promotion  of  this  cause,  fully  apprehensive  of  the  amazing  evils 
connected  with  the  liquor  traffic,  himself  earnestly  and  personally 
advocating  the  cause,  and  everywhere  consistent  in  his  example, 
and  yet  with  not  one  particle  of  denunciation.  No  man  —  and 
that  is  not  common  —  ever  heard  him  speak  with  unkindness  of 
those  who  differed  from  him  in  regard  to  means  of  work ;  and  the 
same  is  true  in  his  advocacy  of  that  fundamental  institution  in  our 
republican  government,  the  Sabbath :  firm,  consistent,  but  always 
Christian  in  his  spirit. 

"  I  particularize  these  points.  There  is  no  time  to  dwell  upon 
them.  There  is  no  time  to  mention  the  multitude  of  others  that 
I  might  mention,  for  there  was  in  him  a  wonderful  balance  and 
combination.  I  mention  these,  not  that  I  may  praise  him,  for  he 
would  not  wish  that,  but  that  I  may  do  what  I  think  he  would  wish 
me  to  do,  that  I  may  call  the  attention  of  this  audience,  and  as 
far  as  I  can  or  may  of  others,  to  that  standard  of  greatness  which 
our  Lord  established  and  commended,  —  the  standard  of  greatness 
for  men  great  by  service,  which  he  so  wonderfully  illustrated  dur- 
ing his  life  while  following  Him  who  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  men.  Our 
standards  are  wrong,  —  standards  of  physical  prowess,  standards  of 
military  glory,  standards  of  great  accumulations,  standards  of  intel- 
lectual leadership,  standards  of  ostentatious  display ;  and  as  long 
as  the  standard  is  wrong,  everything  is  wrong.  The  standards  of 
this  world  need  to  be  changed ;  and  that  standard  of  humbly  fol- 
lowing Christ,  the  standard  of  the  fountain  that  overflows,  and  the 
sun  that  shines,  —  that  is  what  we  need.  If  the  great  maelstroms 
and  the  little  maelstroms  of  selfishness  could  be  turned  into  the 
fountains  of  beneficence,  it  would  change  the  face  of  this  world  in 
a  year.  His  lips,  if  they  could  speak  (and  they  do  speak  with 
an  eloquence  which  no  living  lips  can  utter),  would  call  upon 
this  audience  to  adopt  the  standard  commended  and  commanded 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  —  the  standard  of  service. 

"  I  can  only  add  the  words  which  came  to  me  when  I  heard  of 
his  death:  'The  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect.'  Blessed  be  the 
revelation  which  makes  known  to  us  that  there  is  a  place  of  gath- 


324  FUNERAL  SERVICES   AND   ADDRESSES. 

ering  of  such  men  !  It  is  not  for  us  to  assign  places  to  those  that 
depart ;  but  I  felt  in  a  moment  that  that  must  be  the  place  for  him. 
Through  the  mercy  of  God,  may  we  all  reach  that  blessed  place  ! 

"  The  last  speaker  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  L.  Cuyler,  who  said  :  — 

"  I  trust  that  no  one  will  begrudge  the  few  additional  moments 
that  are  required  for  this  service  of  affection,  for  it  will  be  many 
a  long  year  before  you  are  called  to  pay  your  tribute  to  another 
William  E.  Dodge.  His  coffin  is  here  before  us ;  but  this  is  not 
death.  This  is  bursting  into  life  everlasting  and  all  glorious. 
When  that  weary  head  the  other  morning  was  laid  in  the  arms  of 
one  whom  he  loved  better  than  he  loved  any  being  in  the  uni- 
verse except  his  Saviour,  it  was  only  the  worn-out  body  that  fell 
asleep  ;  the  spirit  was  with  Christ,  which  is  infinitely  better.  And 
oh,  what  a  heart  that  was  that  ceased  its  throbbings  !  What  a  life 
he  took  with  him  up  to  the  Throne  ! 

"  Two  words  ruled  the  life  of  William  E.  Dodge :  the  one  was 
'  conscience,'  the  other  was  '  Christ.'  When  a  council  of  distin- 
guished military  officers  at  Fortress  Monroe-  all  reversed  their 
wine-glasses  at  the  table,  it  was  a  tribute  to  the  conscience  of  our 
brother,  who  was  their  guest.  WThen  a  great  corporation  proposed 
to  drive  traffic  on  the  Lord's  Day,  and  he  fearlessly  said  to  his 
fellow-directors :  '  If  you  break  God's  law  for  a  dividend,  I  go 
out,'  it  was  the  conscience  that  echoed  on  Sinai.  And  who  among 
men  ever  dared  to  look  into  that  loving  and  honest  eye  and  call 
him  a  fanatic  ?  The  loss  of  that  conscience  to  this  community  is 
a  sorer  bereavement  even  than  the  loss  of  that  generous  purse. 
Other  rich  men  give  princely  benefactions.  He  gave  more  than 
money.  He  gave  himself —  himself  to  Jesus,  himself  for  Jesus  — 
to  his  fellow-men.  Trained  fifty  years  ago  in  the  school  of  com- 
mercial life,  he  understood  the  power  of  personal  effort.  He 
knew  how  to  lay  that  great  big  loving  heart  of  his  right  alongside 
of  a  fellow-creature,  and  win  that  soul  to  Jesus.  There  are  business 
men  in  this  assemblage  whose  knees  have  bent  through  his  efforts 
in  wrestling  prayer  for  their  souls. 

"  So  untiringly  did  he  give  himself  to  the  great  revival  work  of 
1858  that  his  health  broke  down,  and  necessitated  a  journey  abroad 
to  recruit  his  physical  energies  and  activity.  Well,  what  is  the  se- 
cret ?  What  is  the  secret  of  the  growth  of  that  beautiful  banyan  that 


FUNERAL   SERVICES   AND   ADDRESSES.  325 

dropped  its  limbs  into  every  land  ?  The  secret  was,  the  roots  were 
washed  by  daily  communion  with  God.  The  secret  of  Mr.  Dodge's 
power  lay  in  the  first  hour  of  every  morning.  That  hour  he  gave 
to  God  with  his  Bible  and  on  his  knees ;  and  if  he  came  down- 
town among  you  business-men  with  his  face  shining  with  cheerful- 
ness and  loving-kindness,  it  was  because  he  had  been  up  on  the 
mount  in  communion  with  his  Master.  Oh,  how  shall  we  miss 
him  down  yonder  in  that  National  Temperance  Society,  of  which 
he  was  the  father  and  the  founder,  and  the  moving  spirit  represent- 
ing its  best  and  wisest  counsel !  We  feel  like  orphans.  And  so 
they  will  in  so  many  institutions  of  Christian  benevolence  and 
activity ;  and  from  the  eyes  of  many  a  missionary,  of  many  a  poor 
young  man  whom  he  was  educating,  of  many  a  negro  freedman  in 
Lincoln  and  Hampton,  of  many  a  reformed  inebriate  up  yonder 
in  his  institution,  when  the  tidings  come,  — 

"  The  tears  will  flow  like  rain 
For  him  we  ne'er  shall  see  again. 

"  Would  to  God  that  the  lips  we  loved  to  hear  once  more  had 
language  !  Would  to  God  that  the  voice  that  pleaded  for  Jesus 
could  be  heard  once  more  even  here  in  this  sanctuary  of  love  ! 
Would  that  after  three  days  in  glory  he  could  come  back,  and  with 
words  of  living  flame  say  to  you,  his  business  associates  and  his 
friends :  '  This  world 's  a  dream,  an  empty  show.  What  shall  it 
profit  to  gain  it  all,  if  you  lose  your  souls  ?  What  shall  a  man  give 
in  exchange  for  his  soul?  Be  ye  also  ready  —  ready  for  the 
summons  to  go  to  the  Saviour.' 

"  My  beloved  brother,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh  this  last  loved 
message  to  all :  '  Seek  Christ  and  his  salvation.'  Ye  shall  take  up 
this  slumbering  form  and  bear  it  out  from  the  sanctuary  of  love  ; 
bear  it  tenderly,  reverently  :  it  has  been  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  it  shall  be  fashioned  anew  by  the  glorious  Father  and 
Master  in  the  day  of  his  great  fruition.  For  him 

"  'T  was  a  glory  to  live,  but  a  greater  to  die, 
And  the  best  of  this  world  was  his  path  to  the  sky. 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Marvin  R.  Vincent  then  said  :  — 

"  We  will  sing  the  6y8th  hymn.  This  is  a  cheerful  hymn,  it  is 
not  a  dirge ;  and  we  sing  it  both  because  it  was  a  favorite  with 


326  FUNERAL  SERVICES   AND   ADDRESSES. 

him  who  is  gone,  and  because  we  forget  for  the  moment  our  own 
sense  of  loss  in  the  deeper  sense  of  his  eternal  gain,  feeling  that  it 
is  a  joyful  thing  when  such  a  one  as  he  has  closed  a  well-rounded 
life  and  has  gone  up  to  the  rest  of  his  Father  and  his  God. 

"  The  hymn,  omitting  the  third  and  fourth  verses,  — 

"  How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord, 
Is  laid  for  your  faith  in  his  excellent  word  ! 
What  more  can  he  say  than  to  you  he  hath  said,  — 
To  you,  who  for  refuge  to  Jesus  have  fled  ? 

was  sung  by  both  choir  and  congregation  with  great  sweetness  and 
power.  The  former  pastor  of  the  church,  Dr.  George  L.  Prentiss, 
offered  a  most  fervent,  touching,  and  appropriate  prayer,  and  the 
benediction  was  pronounced  by  Dr.  Vincent.  The  remains  were 
taken  to  Woodlawn  Cemetery." 

Speaking  of  this  occasion  not  long  after,  Dr.  Cuyler 
remarked :  — 

"At  this  funeral  service  were  gathered  all  the  representative 
men  whom  any  one  thinks  of  when  he  thinks  of  the  Empire  City. 
Great  merchants,  great  ministers,  great  lawyers,  mingled  with 
humble  city  missionaries  and  godly  women  who  toil  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  outcast.  In  that  plain  coffin  before  them  —  beneath  a 
handful  of  white  lilies  and  a  sheaf  of  golden  grain  —  rested  the  be- 
loved philanthropist  who  had  worn  out  a  long  life  in  doing  good. 

"This  world  is  the  poorer  and  heaven  is  the  richer  for  the 
departure  of  William  E.  Dodge.  Such  another  life  of  blessed 
beneficence  has  not  been  closed  within  our  memory ;  such  a  ripe 
and  abundant  sheaf  has  not  been  carried  home  by  any  other 
servant  of  God  whose  name  we  can  recall.  From  all  parts  of  our 
broad  land,  from  Christians  of  every  denomination,  from  people 
of  all  parties,  colors,  and  condition,  breaks  forth  one  unanimous 
acclaim :  '  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into 
the  joy  of  thy  Lord  ! '  " 

And  Dr.  Prime  added  (in  the  New  York  "  Observer  "  )  : 

"Around  his  remains  were  gathered  good  people,  —  the  pious, 

praying,  benevolent  people,  men  and  women  who  love  God  and 

their  fellow-men,  and  many,  too,  who  had  felt  the  goodness  of  their 


FUNERAL  SERVICES   AND   ADDRESSES.  327 

friend  and  benefactor  now  gone  to  the  Saviour  in  whom  he  believed 
and  whom  he  loved.  And  the  '  preachers  '  in  great  numbers  were 
there,  —  men  of  God,  whose  work  it  is  '  to  point  to  heaven  and 
lead  the  way.'  They  were  the  intimate  friends  and  companions 
of  the  departed  ;  and  now  they  stood  over  his  precious  form  and 
spoke  of  his  virtues,  his  life  and  example,  —  how  he  had  walked 
with  God,  loving  Him  in  his  fellow-men,  doing  good  unto  all  as  he 
had  opportunity,  and  rejoicing  to  '  spend  and  be  spent '  in  making 
others  better  and  happier  because  of  Him.  That  immense  congre- 
gation were  not  in  tears  of  sorrow,  but  of  sympathy ;  not  mourning 
as  those  who  have  no  hope,  but  lifted  up  with  the  comfort  and 
glorious  hope  of  the  Gospel,  as  by  faith  they  saw  their  departed 
friend  in  the  presence  of  God  with  exceeding  joy.  As  I  was  going 
away  from  the  church,  a  gentleman  said  to  me :  '  Such  a  funeral 
is  an  event  in  one's  life ;  I  never  attended  such  a  one  before.' 

"  It  was  an  occasion  of  thanksgiving  and  praise,  not  of  lamenta- 
tion and  grief :  the  light  and  glory  of  heaven,  shining  on  the  dead, 
dispelled  the  gloom,  and  the  coffin  seemed  a  car  of  victory  in 
which  he  was  carried  to  the  skies.  It  was  indeed  a  joyous  funeral, 
as  hope  and  faith  turn  mourning  into  joy,  and  even  the  smitten 
and  afflicted  say,  '  Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord  ' '  " 

As  one  of  the  affecting  incidents  of  the  services  at  the 
church,  a  friend  writes  :  "  When  I  was  sitting  quite  at  the 
front,  an  oldish  man  came  near,  and  I  offered  him  a  seat.  He 
whispered  in  my  ear:  '  Forty-seven  years  ago  he  (pointing 
to  the  casket)  took  me  from  the  deck  of  a  man-of-war,  and 
rescued  me  and  educated  me ;  and  all  I  have  in  this  world 
or  the  next  is  due  to  him.'  I  gathered  that  he  had  been 
dissipated,  and  had  been  saved  and  educated  by  Mr. 
Dodge,  and  was  now  a  missionary  among  the  miners  of 
Pennsylvania.  At  every  tribute  to  his  friend  he  would 
say  '  Amen  ! '  or  '  God  be  thanked ! '  with  tears  rolling 
down  his  cheeks." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

TRIBUTES. 

of  Mr.  Dodge's  death  called  forth,  both  in 
-L  this  country  and  across  the  sea,  extended  notices. 
In  some  instances  sermons  were  preached  and  special  me- 
morial services  held,  while  the  societies  and  boards  with 
which  he  had  been  connected,  passed  more  than  formal 
resolutions  of  respect  and  affection.  His  portrait,  with  a 
sketch  of  his  life,  appeared  in  the  illustrated  weeklies  and 
in  other  papers  and  magazines.  Referring  to  the  num- 
ber and  character  of  these  articles,  a  Philadelphia  weekly 
journal  remarks :  — 

"  Our  New  York  exchanges  of  last  week  have  much  to  say  of 
the  late  Mr.  Dodge.  Rarely  indeed  do  such  notices  follow  a 
death.  They  indicate  the  remarkable  place  he  held  in  New  York 
life." 

And  the  "  Missionary  Herald,"  published  in  Boston, 
says,  in  its  number  for  April,  1883  :  — 

"  It  has  been  impressive  to  watch  the  tide  of  eulogy,  which, 
since  his  death,  has  poured  forth  from  all  quarters,  in  memory  of 
this  true  follower  of  Christ.  The  secular  press  has  vied  with  the 
religious  in  commending  the  life  and  character  of  Mr.  Dodge. 
Neither  his  large  wealth  nor  his  fine  intellectual  powers  gave  him 
the  distinction  he  confessedly  achieved.  The  secret  of  his  fame  is 
that  he  placed  his  possessions  and  his  talents,  in  a  very  simple  and 
consecrated  way,  at  the  service  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth. 
Both  his  heart  and  his  purse  were  open,  and  his  tongue  was  ready 
for  any  and  every  good  cause.  He  did  not  live  for  himself.  Even 
a  selfish  world  honors  him  for  this.  It  is  an  unspeakable  blessing 


TRIBUTES.  329 

when  any  one  exemplifies  this  law  of  love  and  loving  service  as 
was  done  by  this  eminent  Christian  philanthropist.  Better  even 
than  his  legacies  of  money  is  the  legacy  of  his  example." 

"  It  is  much  to  say  of  any  man,  that  he  has  passed  over  sixty 
years  in  a  great  centre  like  New  York,  and  most  of  that  time  in 
public  life,  identified  with  a  great  variety  of  public 
movements,  and  has  always  been  found  on  the  side  vmcsNT,  in  the 
of  religion,  morality,  order,  patriotism,  and  philan-  independent, 
thropy.      That,  in  brief,    is    Mr.    Dodge's    record. 
There  is,  however,  a  fact  back  of  this,  which  is  the  key  to  the 
record.     His  life  represents,  beyond  everything  else,  the  religion 
of  the  Gospel.     That  was  its  basis,  its  inspiration,  its  controlling 
force. 

"There  are  two  closely  linked  Christian  principles  which  find  their 
illustration  in  this  long,  varied,  and  useful  career.  The  first  of 
these  is  stewardship,  a  distinctively  Christian  principle,  which  for- 
mulates its  law  thus  :  Property  is  mine  to  be  used  for  Christ ;  while 
the  world's  law  is :  Property  is  mine  for  my  own  use  and  enjoy- 
ment solely.  Mr.  Dodge,  while  enjoying  with  Christian  modera- 
tion the  privileges  of  wealth,  regarded  himself  as  a  trustee  and 
administrator  of  wealth  for  the  service  of  humanity  and  the  inter- 
ests of  religion.  Stewardship  was  to  him  not  merely  a  principle, 
but  a  privilege.  His  must  have  been  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  the 
blessing  pronounced  upon  the  cheerful  giver.  He  held  his  means 
at  the  call  of  the  work  of  Christ,  and  recognized  in  the  demands  of 
that  work  legitimate  claims. 

"  With  this  principle  naturally  went  the  other,  —  ministry.  No 
man  more  clearly  recognized  service  as  the  staple  of  Christian  life. 
Nature  made  him  an  active  man.  He  could  not  be  idle ;  and  if 
he  had  been  a  bad  man  he  would  have  been  a  power  in  the  inter- 
est of  evil,  as  he  actually  was  in  the  interest  of  truth  and  goodness. 
It  was  well  that  religion  early  seized  upon  this  susceptible  and 
vigorous  nature  and  turned  it  into  the  channels  of  Christian  enter- 
prise and  work,  where  it  ran  for  more  than  threescore  years, 
diffusing  fruitfulness  and  beauty.  To  many  who  did  not  know  him 
well,  he  is  represented  mostly  by  his  large  pecuniary  gifts ;  but 
ministry,  in  his  case,  went  far  beyond  mere  giving.  Many  rich 
men  shelter  themselves  behind  their  gifts  from  the  contact  and 


33O  TRIBUTES. 

pressure  of  human  need ;  but  Christ's  law  of  ministry  is  personal, 
including  the  actual  contact  of  the  Christian  disciple  with  the  object 
of  ministry,  —  and  that  not  merely  with  a  view  to  the  relief  of  the 
suffering  or  the  raising  of  the  fallen,  but  also  to  the  discipline  and 
moral  development  of  the  disciple.  *  Pure  religion  and  undefiled,' 
not  the  conventional  sort,  but  '  before  God  and  the  Father,  is  to 
visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction.'  Mr.  Dodge  was 
liberal  in  personal,  no  less  than  in  pecuniary,  ministries.  His  time 
and  his  labor  and  his  presence,  no  less  than  his  purse,  were  put  at 
the  service  of  the  poor,  the  sorrowing,  and  the  degraded.  Like 
the  Divine  Master  who  was  his  inspiration  and  his  model,  he  went 
about  doing  good. 

"  The  number  and  variety  of  his  labors  of  love  it  is  impossible 
to  estimate.  The  aggregate  of  the  services  and  benefactions,  known 
only  to  himself  and  to  the  objects  of  his  ministry,  would  probably 
equal  if  not  exceed  that  of  his  more  conspicuous  charities.  Much 
of  his  work  of  this  kind  could  not  be  done  in  a  corner.  He  seemed 
to  have  a  hand  in  almost  everything  that  was  going  on  for  the  wel- 
fare of  mankind.  He  was  known  all  over  the  continent  as  a  giver. 
Every  one  of  the  legion  which  annually  pours  into  this  city  to  solicit 
subscriptions  —  agents  of  colleges  and  seminaries,  promoters  of 
new  philanthropic  schemes,  seekers  of  aid  for  feeble  churches,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  horde  of  selfish  impostors  —  went  straight  to 
William  E.  Dodge.  His  door  was  thronged  with  applicants,  and 
he  could  rarely  take  a  meal  without  interruption.  In  his  frequent 
and  extended  business  journeys  he  never  forgot  his  Master's  busi- 
ness. Every  journey  had  for  him  a  double  purpose.  Travelling 
almost  invariably  in  company  with  her  who  for  more  than  fifty 
years  has  been  the  sharer  of  his  labors  of  love,  the  two  were  always 
on  the  watch  for  opportunities  of  Christian  ministry.  Among  the 
Indians  on  the  frontier,  and  the  freedmen  of  the  South,  they  went 
together,  sharing  the  delight  of  dropping  good  words,  good  books, 
and  charitable  deeds  by  the  wayside.  Eternity  alone  will  reveal 
the  fruitage  of  these  wayside  seeds. 

"  And  yet,  after  all,  to  those  who  knew  him  best  he  is  not  repre- 
sented by  his  gifts,  large  as  they  were,  so  much  as  by  the  Christian 
personality  behind  them.  His  natural  affectionateness  was  elevated 
and  toned  by  the  spirit  of  Christian  love.  His  interest  in  men  was 
not  assumed  for  the  sake  of  popularity.  It  reached  after  their  souls, 


TRIBUTES.  331 

and  was  inspired  by  deep  and  solemn  convictions  of  human  duty, 
privilege,  and  destiny.  He  was  a  Christian  not  merely  by  pro- 
fession, but  in  spirit  and  life.  However  one  might  question  the 
wisdom  of  his  methods  or  dissent  from  his  opinions,  he  could  not 
long  be  associated  with  him  without  feeling  that  his  life  was  habit- 
ually impelled  by  loyalty  to  God's  truth  and  to  the  law  of  Christ. 
His  Christian  sentiment  took  little  account  of  denominational  lines. 
He  recognized  as  a  brother  any  man  who  sincerely  and  consistently 
followed  Christ  as  Master  and  Lord,  and  was  ready  to  lend  a  hand 
to  any  work,  under  whatever  name,  which  promised  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  men. 

"  He  was  singularly  agreeable  in  personal  intercourse  —  genial, 
vivacious,  courteous,  sympathetic,  and  none  the  less  responsive  to 
wit  and  humor  because  of  his  dominant  interest  in  serious  themes. 
Physically  he  was  a  remarkably  '  well-preserved '  man,  as  the  phrase 
goes.  Spare  and  slight  of  figure,  he  was  quick  in  his  movements, 
and  his  step  retained  its  elasticity  to  the  very  last.  Work  was  his 
element,  and  his  wiry  frame  developed  up  to  an  advanced  age 
extraordinary  powers  of  endurance.  The  very  last  week  of  his 
life  was  marked  by  a  multitude  of  engagements  which  would  have 
daunted  not  a  few  younger  men. 

"  As  a  hearer  of  the  word  he  was  at  once  reverent  and  respon- 
sive. It  was  a  pleasure  to  preach  to  him.  He  drank  in  the  truth 
with  avidity,  and  his  mobile  face  revealed  in  tears  or  smiles  the 
working  of  the  truth  upon  his  heart." 

"  He  is  gone  to  the  grave  !     In  the  fulness  of  his  years,  after  a 
life  extended  beyond  the  allotted  term  of  man,  —  a  life  full  of  ac- 
tivity and  usefulness,  and  crowned  with  honor,  —  he  is  Rev  H  M 
come  to  the  end  like  a  shock  of  corn  that  is  fully  ripe,  FIELD,  D.D., 

*  '  in  the  New  York 

that  cometh  in  in  its  season.  Evangelist, 

"  And  his  departure,  though  so  sudden  that  it  star-  Feb' I5>  l883' 
tied  us  all,  yet  was  merciful  in  its  instant  release  from  pain  and  its 
swift  ascent  to  a  world  where  sorrow  cannot  come.  It  was  pre- 
ceded by  no  long-lingering  sickness,  attended  by  great  suffering, 
by  none  of  that  decay  of  body  or  of  mind  which  it  is  so  painful  to 
witness  in  those  we  love ;  all  his  faculties  were  unimpaired  to  the 
last,  when,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  he  was  not, 
for  God  took  him.  Such  a  death  seems  like  a  translation  when 


332  TRIBUTES. 

the  life  that  now  is  glides  so  swiftly,  with  no  interval  of  weakness 
and  helplessness,  into  the  life  that  is  to  come.  Surely  nothing  was 
wanted  to  the  completeness  of  such  a  life  but  that  it  should  be 
closed  by  such  a  death. 

"  The  loss  is  not  to  him,  but  to  us ;  and  that  loss  remains,  and 
will  long  remain :  for  in  truth  this  great  city  had  hardly  another 
such  man  to  lose.  It  had  men  of  equal,  some  of  much  greater 
wealth ;  but  not  one  (unless  it  be  his  aged  friend  Mr.  Peter  Cooper) 
who,  possessed  of  fortune,  administered  it  with  such  noble  gener- 
osity, with  such  wise  and  thoughtful  care  for  the  good  of  others, 
and  the  whole  city  is  left  poorer  by  his  death.  The  history  of 
such  a  life  and  such  a  character  deserves  to  be  written  for  instruc- 
tion and  example  to  those  who  are  now  coming  on  the  stage. 
Such  a  life  is  all  the  more  valuable  as  a  lesson  because  its  success 
and  its  usefulness  were  not  due  to  advantages  which  others  do  not 
possess.  When  this  merchant  prince  came  from  his  New  England 
home  to  this  city,  a  boy  of  thirteen  years  of  age,  he  had  no  advan- 
tages of  fortune  or  powerful  friends  to  help  him ;  but  he  brought 
with  him  habits  of  industry  and  fidelity,  and  he  brought  also  the 
strong  religious  faith  which  he  had  learned  at  his  mother's  knee. 
From  a  child  he  had  been  taught  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  had 
the  strict  habits  of  his  New  England  home,  —  of  the  observance  of 
the  Sabbath,  the  reading  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  attendance 
on  public  worship.  These  influences  were  his  safeguard  amid  the 
temptations  of  a  great  city.  The  force  of  parental  instruction  and 
example  led  him  to  seek  young  men  of  like  principles  for  his  asso- 
ciates. His  marriage  brought  him  into  one  of  the  most  influential 
Christian  families  of  that  day,  so  that  all  the  right  dispositions  of 
his  youth  were  confirmed  in  his  early  manhood.  And  thus  was 
laid  the  foundation  of  one  of  the  noblest  characters  and  one  of 
the  most  useful  lives  of  this  generation. 

"  In  the  conduct  of  business  affairs  he  soon  showed  great  capa- 
city. It  is  the  fashion  with  some  to  underrate  the  talent  required 
for  success  in  business  as  compared  with  that  shown  in  the  profes- 
sions or  in  political  life.  But  the  management  of  a  large  business 
requires  as  much  strength  and  clearness  of  understanding,  as  much 
sagacity  and  judgment,  as  to  'run'  a  department  of  the  government, 
—  indeed  more  ;  for  in  State  departments  there  are  always  the  heads 
of  bureaus,  who  have  been  long  in  the  service  and  know  all  the 


TRIBUTES.  333 

details,  so  that  a  department  almost  'runs'  itself,  without  the  special 
supervision  of  its  chief.  But  to  build  up  a  great  commercial  house, 
to  organize  its  complicated  mechanism,  to  anticipate  public  wants, 
and  guard  against  the  dangers  which  threaten  commercial  enter- 
prises, requires  a  very  high  degree  of  administrative  capacity. 

"  But  had  Mr.  Dodge  been  merely  a  successful  business  man  he 
would  have  deserved  no  special  honor  in  life  or  in  death.  Busi- 
ness men  are  too  often  content  with  mere  business  success.  While 
they  develop  a  talent  for  making  money,  they  have  no  correspond- 
ing largeness  of  nature.  They  grow  in  fortune,  but  they  do  not 
grow  in  manhood.  Indeed,  often  while  they  increase  in  riches, 
they  dwindle  as  men.  The  richer  they  get,  the  more  mean  and 
miserly  they  become.  New  York  has  many  such  men,  whose  for- 
tune is  in  the  inverse  ratio  to  their  manliness. 

"  But  in  the  present  case  the  effect  of  prosperity  was  exactly  the 
opposite.  As  the  young  merchant  increased  in  goods,  his  first 
thought  was  not  to  gratify  his  pride  by  worldly  display,  but  to  use 
his  means  to  help  others  who  were  less  fortunate.  Looking  round 
him,  he  saw  young  men,  clerks  or  apprentices,  who  were  strug- 
gling as  he  had  been  to  get  a  start  in  life,  and  it  was  his  chief 
pleasure  to  lend  them  a  helping  hand.  In  many  a  case  a  little 
timely  aid  at  the  right  moment  was  the  beginning  of  a  prosper- 
ous career.  He  felt  the  same  impulse  if  he  had  in  his  employ 
a  poor  laboring  man  who  had  been  faithful  in  his  humble  sphere, 
and  who  could  be  made  happier  by  a  little  encouragement.  Some- 
times a  workman  would  die  and  leave  a  family  destitute.  Then 
his  generous  employer  would  look  after  the  widow  and  children. 
In  the  course  of  years  he  came  to  have  a  great  number  of  such 
families  as  constant  pensioners  on  his  bounty.  In  this  way  he 
was  eminently  the  friend  of  the  friendless,  the  helper  of  those  who 
had  no  other  helper  but  God.  Of  him  it  could  truly  be  said, 
'  The  eye  that  saw  him  blessed  him,  and  he  caused  the  widow's 
heart  to  sing  for  joy.' 

"In  these  countless  private  charities,  as  well  as  in  his  larger 
benefactions,  he  was  led  by  a  double  influence,  —  a  warm,  gener- 
ous heart,  and  religious  principle.  His  nature  was  sympathetic ;  he 
had  a  heart  to  feel  for  the  burdens  and  the  griefs  of  others.  Added 
to  this  he  had  a  deep  religious  sense  of  responsibility.  Whatever 
his  wealth,  he  felt  that  it  was  not  his  own ;  that  it  had  been  given 


334  TRIBUTES. 

him  by  God,  and  was  to  be  used  in  His  service ;  he  was  but  a 
steward.     So  he  wrought  as 

"  Ever  in  his  great  Taskmaster's  eye. 

Thus  he  gave  both  from  feeling  and  from  principle.     It  was  no 
self-denial  to  give ;  it  was  his  greatest  pleasure. 

"  Of  course  the  organized  charities  which  relieved  poverty  and 
suffering  on  a  large  scale  appealed  to  him,  and  never  appealed  in 
vain.  It  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  there  was  hardly  one  of  our  city's 
charities  to  which  he  was  not  a  contributor,  while  to  the  most  im- 
portant he  was  a  regular  and  a  large  contributor.  The  posts  of 
trust  he  has  held  first  and  last  are  almost  without  precedent  in  the 
life  of  a  single  individual.  And  none  of  these  relations  were  mere 
sinecures.  He  gave  them  his  large,  roundabout  wisdom  in  affairs, 
his  prayers,  and  as  freely  of  his  abundant  resources ;  thus  identify- 
ing himself  thoroughly  with  them,  and  imparting  just  the  impulse 
which,  with  the  added  blessing  of  God,  leads  to  success. 

"  If  in  the  multitude  of  his  benevolent  gifts  he  had  one  cause 
nearer  his  heart  than  any  other,  it  was  that  of  foreign  missions. 
Believing,  as  he  did,  in  the  Gospel  as  not  only  the  power  of  God 
unto  the  salvation  of  the  individual  soul,  but  as  the  cure  for  all  the 
woes  of  humanity,  his  great  desire  was  to  see  it  preached  to  all 
nations.  He  was  for  many  years  vice-president  of  the  American 
Board,  and  a  large  contributor  to  its  funds,  while  giving  also  freely 
to  our  own  Presbyterian  Board.  Visiting,  as  we  have,  missionary 
stations  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  —  in  Turkey  and  Egypt,  in 
India,  in  China  and  Japan,  —  we  have  never  been  in  one  in  which 
the  name  of  William  E.  Dodge  was  not  a  household  word.  We 
might  have  found  it  also  in  the  cabin  of  every  home  missionary  in 
the  West.  Talk  of  fame  and  reputation  —  what  are  all  that  hu- 
man ambition  can  desire,  compared  with  a  name  thus  spoken  on 
the  prairies  of  America  and  among  the  mountains  of  Asia  ! 

"  There  is  one  point  to  which  we  feel  a  delicacy  in  alluding,  and 
yet  which  seems  necessary  to  complete  the  picture  of  a  man  whose 
goodness  made  him  truly  great,  —  it  is  the  beauty  of  his  domestic 
life.  In  his  early  manhood  he  had  given  to  him  the  best  gift 
which  God  gives  to  any  man,  —  a  noble  wife,  who  was  his  com- 
panion for  more  than  half  a  century,  and  who,  instead  of  checking 
his  too  eager  and  impulsive  generosity,  encouraged  it,  and  so 


TRIBUTES.  335 

strengthened  in  him  every  kindly  instinct,  every  generous  impulse. 
While  conceding  to  him  all  that  was  good  and  worthy  of  praise  in 
his  very  constitution,  we  do  not  believe  it  would  have  been  possi- 
ble for  him,  or  for  any  man,  to  become  such  a  public  benefactor 
but  for  the  presence  in  his  home  and  the  constant  inspiration  of 
one  who  was  in  every  respect  worthy  to  be  his  companion.  Never 
was  there  a  more  perfect  union  of  minds  and  wills  and  hearts. 
Hand  in  hand  they  walked  on  in  life,  feeling  alike  that  the  best 
use  of  wealth  was  to  do  good.  Nearly  four  years  ago  they  cele- 
brated their  golden  wedding  at  their  beautiful  place  on  the  Hud- 
son ;  and  as  they  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  large  concourse  of  friends 
receiving  congratulations,  it  was  the  general  observation  of  those 
who  were  present  that  a  union  so  perfect  was  as  rare  as  it  was 
beautiful.  We  can  say  of  Mr.  Dodge  what  may  be  said  of  others 
who  have  been  great  public  benefactors,  that  next  to  the  grace  of 
God,  it  was  the  angel  always  at  his  side  that  made  him  what  he 
was." 

Dr.  Field  also  delivered,  at  the  Commencement  of  Wil- 
liams College,  1883,  an  address  in  memory  of  Mr.  Dodge, 
as  one  of  the  benefactors  of  the  institution.  In  this  tribute 
he  says :  — 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  son  of  New  England.  He  was  born  in 
Hartford,  Conn.,  Sept.  4,  1805,  of  a  family  that  had  been  settled 
in  this  country  for  six  generations.  His  ancestor  came  over  to 
Salem  in  1629,  — less  than  ten  years  after  the  Pilgrims  landed  on 
Plymouth  Rock.  With  the  blood  of  the  Puritans  in  his  veins,  he 
inherited  their  principles  and  habits,  their  fear  of  God,  their 
integrity,  industry,  and  self-reliance.  These  traits  of  character, 
which  came  out  afterwards  so  strongly  in  the  man,  may  be  traced 
to  his  New  England  training ;  while  in  his  religious  faith  he 
held  firmly  to  his  last  hour  to  the  lessons  which  he  learned  at 
his  mother's  knee. 

"  But  though  born  in  New  England,  his  life  was  to  be  passed 
elsewhere.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  his  father  removed  to  New  York, 
and  he  was  placed  in  a  store  to  learn  business,  beginning  at  the 
foot  of  the  ladder  which  he  was  to  climb  to  the  top.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  enter  into  any  details  of  his  business  career;  it  is 


336  TRIBUTES. 

sufficient  to  say  that  it  was  one  of  distinguished  success.  When  it 
is  remembered  that  over  ninety  per  cent  of  those  who  embark  in 
commercial  pursuits  fail,  —  or,  to  be  more  precise,  that  not  more 
than  three  or  four  in  a  hundred  go  through  life  without  breaking 
down,  —  it  is  a  great  deal  to  say  that  his  house  stood  strong 
through  all  the  financial  revulsions  of  more  than  fifty  years.  The 
distinction  of  Mr.  Dodge  was,  not  the  possession  of  wealth,  but 
the  use  he  made  of  it,  —  that  he  used  it  to  do  good  to  his 
fellow-men. 

"  His  benevolence  may  be  said  to  have  sprung  from  a  twofold 
inspiration,  —  a  warm  heart  and  religious  principle.  He  was  a  man 
of  a  very  sensitive  nature.  His  temperament  was  sympathetic ; 
there  was  in  it  a  feminine  element  which  often  goes  with  manly 
strength.  He  was  quick  to  see  and  feel  the  sorrows  of  others  as 
he  felt  his  own  ;  nor  could  he  see  them  without  an  impulse  to  re- 
lieve them.  Wherever  there  was  misery  to  be  relieved,  wherever 
there  were  the  naked  to  be  clothed  or  the  hungry  to  be  fed,  his 
heart  went  out  in  sympathy.  Thus  by  natural  instinct  he  became 
a  benefactor  of  the  poor.  Of  no  man  could  it  be  more  truly  said, 
'  The  eye  that  saw  him  blessed  him,  and  he  caused  the  widow's 
heart  to  sing  for  joy.' 

"  But  his  benevolence  was  not  merely  a  matter  of  impulse,  but 
of  principle.  Religion  wrought  with  nature  to  make  him  the  man  he 
was.  At  the  time  that  he  was  coming  to  his  young  manhood  the 
country  was  shaken  by  great  revivals  under  Nettleton  and  Finney, 
the  impression  of  which  remains  to  this  day.  With  these  move- 
ments he  was  in  full  sympathy,  and  the  effect  was  great  upon  his 
own  character.  They  intensified  his  views  of  life.  It  was  to  him 
no  mere  Vanity  Fair,  in  which  men  sport  their  follies ;  it  was  not 
a  thing  to  be  played  with  or  trifled  with  :  it  was  a  probation  on 
which  hung  immortal  destinies.  It  was  a  solemn  thing  to  live  as 
well  as  to  die  ;  for  over  the  life  that  now  is,  rested  the  shadow  of 
eternity.  He  was  not  his  own;  he  belonged  to  One  who  had 
redeemed  him  by  His  blood.  He  was  not  placed  in  this  world 
merely  to  enjoy  himself,  but  to  do  good.  His  wealth  was  a  sacred 
trust,  —  he  was  but  the  steward  to  administer  it ;  and  the  more 
that  was  poured  into  his  lap,  the  greater  were  his  obligations. 
There  was  no  plainer  duty,  as  there  was  no  higher  joy,  than  to  be- 
stow upon  others  some  portion  of  that  which  the  great  Giver  and 


TRIBUTES.  337 

Benefactor  had  bestowed  upon  him.  With  such  a  principle  once 
settled  in  his  mind  and  formed  into  a  habit,  it  was  no  effort  for 
him  to  give  away  money.  It  did  not  cost  a  struggle  with  selfish- 
ness every  time  he  was  asked  to  contribute  to  a  good  cause ;  on 
the  contrary,  it  was  a  pleasure  to  give.  He  sought  for  opportuni- 
ties to  use  his  means  most  effectively.  Giving  from  principle,  his 
gifts  were  as  regular  as  his  family  prayers ;  and  as  he  increased  in 
wealth,  they  took  on  increasing  proportions,  till  they  outran  all 
precedent.  I  doubt  if  our  country  has  furnished  another  instance 
of  such  princely  liberality. 

"  In  all  plans  for  doing  good  his  position  was  that  of  a  leader. 
He  did  not  wait  for  others,  but  led  the  way ;  and  others,  catching 
his  enthusiasm,  followed  his  example.  Thus  he  was  an  inspiring 
force  in  all  benevolent  enterprises.  By  his  personal  interest,  and 
the  wise  distribution  of  his  means,  he  may  be  said  to  have  multi- 
plied himself;  so  that  he  touched  a  hundred  different  points,  and 
gave  impulse  to  a  hundred  good  causes. 

"  In  the  multiplicity  of  the  objects  of  his  benevolence,  it  would 
be  idle  to  attempt  enumeration.  •  His  private  charities  were  literally 
endless.  His  larger  benefactions  grouped  themselves  to  a  great  de- 
gree around  institutions  of  education  and  religion,  —  schools  and 
colleges  and  theological  seminaries,  churches  and  missions. 

"  And  now  this  man,  whose  goodness  made  him  great,  whose 
life  was  so  full  of  blessings,  and  the  continuance  of  which  seemed 
so  important  and  almost  necessary,  is  taken  from  us.  He  was 
spared  the  pains  of  death,  and  even  the  infirmities  of  age.  Though 
he  had  passed  by  some  years  the  allotted  period  of  human  life,  his 
eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abated.  To  the  last  his 
form  was  as  erect,  his  step  as  quick,  and  his  eye  as  bright  as  ever. 
In  the  fulness  of  life,  —  in  that  happy  home  where  he  had  lived  so 
long,  which  had  been  the  centre  of  such  hospitality,  by  the  side  of 
that  noble  woman  who  had  been  his  faithful  companion  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  —  in  an  instant  he  fell  asleep,  to  awake  with 
God." 


"  So  fully  rounded  out  with  the  virtues  that  adorn  Rev  s  T  PRIME, 
humanity,  so  free  from  the  imperfections  that  often  D-D-. in  the  New 

,  e    ,  York  Observer. 

mar  the  character  of  the  good,  so  full  of  usefulness 

and  honor,  crowned  with  love  in  public,  social,  and  domestic  life, 


338  TRIBUTES. 

it  is  hard  to  say  what  was  his  highest  excellence,  in  what  depart- 
ment of  the  world's  work  he  was  the  most  efficient,  and  where  his 
loss  will  be  the  most  sadly  felt. 

"  When  he  was  twelve  years  old  he  became  a  Christian ;  and  he 
carried  the  life  and  power  of  religion  into  trade,  infusing  his  spirit 
into  all  its  channels,  acquiring  a  name  that  was  better  than  the 
riches  which  flowed  in  with  every  revolving  year.  With  the  increase 
of  wealth,  his  style  of  living  was  advanced,  and  his  house  on  Murray 
Hill  has  long  been  known  as  one  of  the  best  in  the  city.  Here  he 
surrounded  himself  with  books  and  works  of  art  and  the  luxuries 
which  a  sensible  and  good  man  enjoys.  But,  more  than  all,  here 
he  enjoyed  the  society  of  a  wife  worthy  of  such  a  husband,  —  enter- 
ing with  enthusiasm  into  all  his  life-work,  sharing  every  labor  of 
benevolence,  lightening  every  burden,  and  making  ever  bright  a 
home  where  seven  sons  grew  up  to  be  pillars  about  him,  wife  and 
sons  surviving  the  patriarch  whose  name  they  bear.  In  their  do- 
mestic and  social  life,  in  their  example  as  Christian  workers,  neigh- 
bors, and  friends,  with  all  their  wealth  and  influence,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dodge  so  lived  as  to  commend  a  religious  life  to  those  about 
them,  —  giving  no  occasion  for  reproach,  attracting  others  to  the 
Saviour  whom  they  loved,  and  by  their  own  unostentatious  deport- 
ment and  self-denying  efforts  making  it  evident  that,  better  than 
houses  or  lands  or  gold,  the  service  of  God  was  their  highest  joy. 
The  religion  of  Mr.  Dodge  was  therefore  of  that  type  which  is  the 
most  lovely  and  the  most  useful,  —  combining  beauty  and  utility  in 
the  best  proportions  to  produce  the  highest  results.  Cheerfulness 
pervaded  and  commended  it;  sound  principle  propped  and  im- 
pelled it.  He  was  consistent  all  through ;  every  one  knew  where 
to  find  him ;  his  word  was  inviolable ;  his  favor  was  a  tower  of 
strength;  and,  like  Joseph  in  Egypt,  he  was  a  prosperous  man 
because  God  was  with  him,  and  everything  succeeded  to  which  he 
put  his  hand. 

"The  Christian  benevolence  of  Mr.  Dodge  was  remarkable  even 
in  this  city  and  this  day  of  large  givers.  In  this  one  respect  he 
was  far  in  advance  of  others  who  had  large  possessions,  and  were 
equally  free  in  bestowing  their  goods  upon  the  poor.  Mr.  Dodge 
personally  worked  to  do  good ;  like  his  Master,  he  went  about 
doing  good.  He  had  more  '  irons  in  the  fire,'  he  was  a  more 
busy  man,  with  a  greater  variety  of  engagements  for  each  and 


TRIBUTES. 


339 


every  hour  of  the  day,  than  any  man  we  ever  knew.  Active,  wiry, 
untiring,  even  down  to  old  age,  he  went  from  one  duty  to  another ; 
keeping  memoranda  of  appointments,  and  a  man  to  remind  him ; 
despatching  business  with  promptness,  but  not  without  careful  at- 
tention. He  literally  gave  himself  to  the  world,  the  Church,  the 
poor,  —  to  Christ.  His  large  heart  took  in  every  good  work ;  and 
no  list  of  his  charities,  nor  of  the  institutions  which  he  founded  or 
supported,  will  ever  tell  the  extent  or  the  nature  of  his  deeds  of 
love.  How  or  where  he  began  this  living  for  others,  it  may  be 
hard  to  say.  That  it  ended  only  with  his  life,  we  know.  That  it 
grew  with  him  as  part  of  his  being,  becoming  a  broader  range  of 
existence,  more  absorbing  and  diffusive,  as  means  and  years  and 
knowledge  of  the  wants  of  others  were  brought  into  the  sphere  of 
his  acquaintance,  was  evident  year  by  year  until  the  end.  » 

"  First,  and  before  all  else,  he  sought  the  advancement  of  per- 
sonal religion,  the  conversion  of  men,  and  the  revival  and  increase 
of  piety  in  the  Church  and  community.  As  a  church  member,  a 
ruling  elder,  a  Sunday-school  superintendent  and  teacher,  he  was 
zealous  and  indefatigable.  Endowed  with  gifts  as  a  public  speaker 
unusual  in  a  man  of  affairs,  his  voice  was  always  eloquent  for  Christ. 
Among  the  poor  in  the  city  and  to  the  heathen  afar  he  sought  alike 
to  give  the  bread  of  life.  There  is  not  a  corner  of  this  wide  earth 
where  the  knowledge  of  God  has  gone  that  has  not  felt  the  power 
of  this  good  man's  charity.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Dodge  in  this  country  has  long  held  a  place  in  its  philan- 
thropy similar  to  that  held  in  England  by  Lord  Shaftesbury,  —  the 
president  and  promoter  of  everything  that  promises  to  exalt 
humanity  and  bring  lost  men  back  to  God. 

"  Of  all  the  men  whom  I  have  celebrated  as  examples  to  be 
usefully  imitated,  not  one  has  left  me  richer  material  for  such 
use  than  I  find  in  the  life  and  work  of  my  long-loved  friend  William 
E.  Dodge.  In  these  days  of  commercial  and  political  defections, 
the  straightforward,  upright,  and  unobtrusive  virtues  of  such  a  life 
as  this  make  a  chapter  for  the  study  of  the  young  and  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world.  .  .  . 

"  Well-born,  and  in  youth  not  dependent  on  his  own  exertions  for 
support  and  success,  he  had  the  good  sense  to  enter  early  on  a  life 
of  industry  and  frugality,  working  his  own  way  up,  step  by  step,  till 
he  reached  what  is  thought  to  be  the  top  of  the  ladder.  And  I 


340  TRIBUTES. 

do  not  know  any  higher  round  than  that  from  which  he  stepped 
into  glory  on  high.  He  attained  great  usefulness,  great  honor, 
great  wealth  in  money  and  love.  If  there  is  anything  else  worth 
having,  I  have  never  heard  of  it.  Some  of  those  things  might  be 
dispensed  with,  and  yet  life  be  a  grand  success.  But  when  they 
are  all  won,  well  and  nobly  won,  who  is  more  to  be  envied  and 
admired  ? 

"  I  have  often  heard  him  relate  his  experiences  as  a  boy  in  a 
store,  contrasting  his  duties  as  the  youngest  clerk  with  the  work  of 
boys  now.  His  father  was  a  prosperous  man  of  business,  and  might 
easily  enough  have  brought  him  up  in  idleness, — which  is  supposed 
by  many  fools  to  be  the  same  as  being  brought  up  a  gentleman.  But 
the  lad  was  placed  as  a  clerk  in  a  store,  and  it  was  his  duty  in  the 
morning  to  take  down  the  shutters  and  get  things  ready  for  business. 
To  do  this  he  had  to  get  up  before  daylight  in  winter  and  hurry 
down  to  the  store ;  and  all  day  long  he  was  running  of  errands, 
carrying  parcels  home  for  customers,  and  doing  anything  else  that 
he  was  told  to  do.  This  discipline  he  saw  was  good  for  him,  and 
it  would  be  better  for  boys  now  if  they  went  through  the  same  sea- 
soning process.  It  is  good  to  bear  the  yoke  in  youth. 

"  And  as  Mr.  Dodge  grew  in  stature  and  years,  he  grew  in  favor 
with  God  and  man.  His  life  was  one  of  cheerful  industry.  Noth- 
ing in  the  way  of  duty  was  irksome,  —  rather,  it  was  a  pleasure  to 
be  enjoyed ;  and  the  smile,  so  genial  and  loving,  with  which  his 
friends  were  always  greeted,  was  merely  the  sunshine  reflected  from 
his  glowing  heart.  Immersed  in  business  that  assumed  wide  range 
and  vast  proportions,  he  kept  his  soul  serene  in  the  light  of  heaven, 
so  that  the  cares  of  the  world,  the  love  of  money,  and  sordid  greed 
had  no  dominion  over  his  buoyant  spirit.  More  than  the  counting- 
room  or  the  presidency  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  he  loved 
the  Sunday-school  room,  the  house  of  God,  the  prayer-meeting, 
and  the  chamber  of  the  suffering,  whose  wants  he  might  relieve. 
His  delight  was  in  making  glad  the  hearts  of  the  poor. 

"  There  are  others  who  have  wealth,  and  are  as  free  to  give  as  he 
was.  But  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  any  man  of  his  wealth  who 
would  do  so  much  for  others,  besides  giving  largely.  I  wrote  to  him 
that  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  being  very  poor,  was  actually  in  want 
of  clothes  for  himself;  and  I  added  playfully,  '  He  is  a  man/kr/ 
about  of  your  size.'  The  next  day  Mr.  Dodge  came  up  into  my 


TRIBUTES.  341 

third-story  room,  lugging  a  bundle  much  larger  round  than  his 
body.  I  remonstrated  with  him  for  taking  that  labor  on  himself, 
but  he  said  he  preferred  to  do  it  rather  than  have  his  coachman 
leave  the  horses.  The  bundle  was  a  complete  wardrobe  for  the 
good  shepherd,  and  covered  him  many  a  time  while  he  preached 
the  word. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  temperance  man,  practising  total  abstinence 
himself,  advocating  it  eloquently,  but  without  bitterness  towards 
them  that  are  without.  Neither  in  public  nor  private  did  he  say  a 
hard  word  of  those  who  did  not  train  in  his  company.  He  pre- 
sided at  the  Jerry  McAuley  Mission  Anniversary  a  few  short 
weeks  ago,  and  an  incident  there  was  a  beautiful  illustration  of  his 
ingenuous  nature.  One  of  the  gentlemen  made  an  appeal  for  funds 
to  support  the  mission  for  another  year.  He  said  :  '  It  requires 
$4,000 ;  in  the  meeting  this  afternoon  we  raised  $2,000,  and  we 
want  $2,000  more  this  evening.  We  will  now  take  your  subscrip- 
tions." Mr.  Dodge  said  at  once,  '  Put  me  down  for  one  tenth  of 
the  sum.'  The  gentleman  exclaimed,  '  There  !  we  have  $200 
already.'  Mr.  Dodge  responded,  '  I  said  one  tenth  of  the  sum, 
meaning  of  the  whole  sum  required  for  the  year ;  that  is,  $400.' 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  some  men  would  have  let  it  pass 
without  correction ;  but  that  was  not  his  way. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  never  appeared  to  better  advantage  than  in  his  own 
house,  in  the  midst  of  a  throng  of  guests  whom  he  delighted  to  en- 
tertain, with  an  eye  to  their  enjoyment  and  the  accomplishment  of 
some  good  work.  This  is  a  way  we  have  in  New  York  of  pursuing 
self-denying  labors  of  love.  An  evening  at  Mr.  Dodge's  will 
serve  as  an  illustration.  To  enlist  a  large  number  in  the  cause  of 
temperance  or  any  other  good  work,  he  invites  by  card  a  hundred 
or  more  intelligent  and  prominent  gentlemen  to  his  house,  the  ob- 
ject being  mentioned  in  the  invitation.  His  house  is  spacious,  with 
a  large  drawing-room  on  one  side  of  the  hall,  an  elegant  library, 
filled  with  books  and  costly  pictures,  beyond  the  parlor,  and  out  of 
it  opens  the  dining-room.  In  the  midst  of  these  sumptuous  sur- 
roundings, after  an  hour  of  social  intercourse,  Mr.  Dodge  lays  the 
subject  before  the  company  with  ease,  clearness,  and  force,  and 
calls  upon  one  and  another  to  give  their  views.  The  discussion 
goes  forward  with  spirit,  combining  the  vivacity  of  animated  con- 
versation with  the  energy  of  public  speaking.  The  hour  of  ten  has 


342  TRIBUTES. 

come,  and  an  intimation  that  the  banquet-chamber  waits  for  its 
guests.  Then  we  take  a  unanimous  vote  that  Mr.  Dodge  and  his 
cause  shall  have  our  enthusiastic  support,  and  we  adjourn  to  sup- 
per. I  have  never  known  a  dissenting  vote  in  regard  to  the  merits 
of  the  supper  or  the  cause.  The  table  is  bountifully  laden  with 
the  best  of  good  things.  Conspicuously  there  is  no  wine.  Our 
host  is  the  head-centre  of  the  Total  Abstinence  Association  in  the 
United  States,  and  he  is  true  to  his  principles.  Whatever  is  good 
to  eat  or  drink,  and  will  not  intoxicate,  is  at  the  sendee  of  his 
friends.  And  across  the  mantel  of  this  dining-hall  is  carved,  in  old 
English  letters,  the  significant  motto,  — 

Nat  meats,  but  cfjcerfulness  maftes  tfje  feast. 

"  It  was  here  that  I  last  saw  my  good  friend  while  living.  We 
were  walking  in  the  library,  having  some  pleasantry  together,  which 
led  him  to  pass  his  arm  around  me,  and,  laughing  heartily,  to  say, 
'  My  dear  friend,  I  assure  you,'  etc.  The  pressure  of  his  arm, 
the  genial  smile,  the  word  of  endearment,  are  now  the  last  impres- 
sions made  on  my  memory  of  his  living  form  and  manner,  and  I 
did  not  disturb  the  pleasant  impression  by  looking  on  the  face  of 
the  dead. 

"  To  young  men  and  old  men  and  men  in  the  vigor  of  life  here 
is  an  example  as  nearly  right  as  men  ever  afford.  By  early  in- 
dustry, persevering  diligence  in  business,  with  fidelity  to  every  trust, 
he  made  friends,  acquired  large  possessions,  gained  honor  and 
fame,  and  a  good  name  better  than  great  riches.  Then  he  used 
all  to  the  glory  of  God  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-men,  giving  with 
unbounded  generosity  and  with  self-denying  charity.  The  need 
of  the  age  is  such  men,  —  devout,  honest,  active,  liberal  men,  who 
fear  God  and  no  one  else,  men  of  courage  and  enthusiasm,  with 
high  purposes,  pure,  unselfish,  and  true. 

"  Not  long  ago  there  lived  hi  this  city  at  one  time  ten  Christian 
gentlemen  whose  liberality  in  giving  was  remarkable.  They  are 
now  all  gone,  and  their  names  are  recalled  for  the  purpose  of  doing 
deserved  honor  to  their  memory.  They  were  James  Brown, 
Hanson  K.  Corning,  William  E.  Dodge,  John  C.  Green,  James 
Lenox,  Frederick  Marquand,  Edwin  D.  Morgan,  Christopher 
Robert,  Alexander  Stuart,  and  Robert  L.  Stuart.  All  these  men, 
with  Mr.  Brown,  Mr.  Dodge,  the  brothers  Stuart,  Mr.  Robert,  and 


TRIBUTES.  343 

Governor  Morgan,  gave  their  money  in  thousands  and  hundreds  of 
thousands.  The  whole  ten  whom  I  have  named  were  prudent 
men,  wise  men,  not  one  of  them  lived  ostentatiously  or  gave  osten- 
tatiously. Not  one  was  miserly.  They  spent  their  money  well, 
enjoying  the  good  things  of  this  life  in  a  manner  that  commanded 
the  approval  of  a  good  conscience  and  of  their  fellow-men.  This 
is  as  it  should  be.  It  is  quite  as  useful  to  spend  money  in  buying 
labor  or  the  products  of  labor  as  to  give  money  away  without  get- 
ting anything  in  return.  It  is  better  to  encourage  honest  industry 
by  giving  it  a  fair  reward  than  to  give  indiscriminately  to  every 
beggar  by  the  way-side.  And  these  generous  men  were  wise  in 
their  generosity,  judicious  as  well  as  generous,  and  therefore  setting 
an  example  worthy  of  universal  imitation. 

"  They  were  all  well  spoken  of  in  the  Church  and  the  world. 
They  had  their  several  and  marked  peculiarities.  Some  of  them 
doubtless  had  faults  of  character ;  at  least  they  did  not  put  in  a 
claim  to  perfection,  and  would  have  denied  it  stoutly  had  they 
been  praised  as  perfect  men.  But  every  one  of  them  had  a  '  good 
name,'  which  the  good  Book  saith  is  better  than  great  riches. 
Thus  were  they  doubly  blessed  in  having  great  riches  plus  a  good 
name.  It  is  very  easy  to  give  away  other  people's  money ;  and 
many  thought  and  some  said  that  these  men  were  narrow  in  the 
range  of  their  benevolence,  restricting  their  gifts  to  one  line  or  a 
few  lines  of  usefulness.  But  they  were  giving  their  own,  and  might 
certainly  be  allowed  to  do  good  with  it  according  to  their  own 
judgment.  Those  who  give  freely  are  not  apt  to  censure  them 
that  do  the  same.  It  is  a  salve  to  the  conscience  of  them  who  do 
not  give  to  find  fault  with  the  judgment  of  the  generous.  There- 
fore I  am  quite  willing  that  a  good  man  shall  have  his  own  way  in 
the  bestowal  of  his  wealth,  as  it  is  a  matter  between  him  and  the 
Lord  only. 

"  All  of  these  men  received  their  wealth  in  honest  channels,  and 
no  man  ever  laid  anything  to  their  charge.  They  were  of  good 
report  among  men  of  business,  and  it  might  be  said  of  any  one  of 
them,  '  his  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond.'  There  was  nothing 
slippery  about  them,  and  in  dealing  with  them  you  knew  that  they 
were  true  and  pure  men,  in  whom  was  no  guile.  They  were  also 
Christians,  servants  of  God,  lovers  of  his  word,  his  Sabbaths,  and 
his  people.  These  all  died  in  faith,  and  have  entered  into  rest. 


344  TRIBUTES. 

Their  works  live  after  them,  the  good  they  did,  and  will  live  to  the 
end  of  time,  —  long  after  the  churches,  colleges,  seminaries,  hos- 
pitals, asylums,  and  homes  they  caused  to  be  built,  and  which  now 
stand  on  the  earth,  shall  have  crumbled. 

"  It  is  very  remarkable  that  ten  such  men  as  I  have  named 
should  have  lived  at  one  time,  in  one  city,  in  the  same  branch  of 
the  Christian  Church,  all  large  givers,  all  wise,  conservative,  solid 
citizens,  who  used  their  large  wealth  for  the  good  of  others,  and 
all  died  leaving  spotless  names  and  fragrant  memories  that  smell 
sweet  and  blossom  in  the  dust. 

"  It  was  never  our  privilege  before  to  record  three  such  wills  as 
those  of  Willets,  Dodge,  and  Morgan,  within  a  few  days  of  each 
other.  The  aggregate  of  the  sums  given  to  benevolent  objects  is 
not  so  great  as  has  been  given  by  single  wills  at  other  times.  The 
names  of  Girard,  Peabody,  and  Johns  Hopkins  and  others  recur  at 
once  to  the  mind.  But  here  are  three  good  men,  with  families  and 
friends  who  are  well  provided  for  by  these  wills,  and  then  hand- 
some bequests  are  made  to  important  and  deserving  charities, 
which  will  perpetuate  the  names  and  usefulness  of  these  bene- 
factors to  the  end  of  time.  This  is  well-doing.  It  is  benevo- 
lence extending  beyond  the  grave ;  post-mortem  charity.  It  is 
making  a  permanent  investment  yielding  large  interest  for  time 
immemorial." 

"The  blessed  fact  about  this  wealth,  however,  was,  that  Mr. 
Dodge  consecrated  it  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  when  he  conse- 
crated himself  to  him.  He  was  an  active  member  of 
Con^re^6-  l^e  Church,  and  he  made  his  money  active  in  its  service 
tionaiist,  BOS-  as  well.  Nor  was  he  satisfied  with  eager  and  hard 
work  merely  along  ecclesiastical  lines.  He  went  into 
the  Sabbath-school.  He  was  a  foremost  laborer  in  the  temperance 
cause.  He  had  great  interest  in  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions. He  was  most  efficient  in  his  working  and  giving  for  mis- 
sions, home  and  foreign.  He  favored  Moody  and  Sankey  meetings. 
In  short  he  —  without  aiming  at  it  —  acquired  renown  as  a  philan- 
thropist. His  house,  his  purse,  his  hand,  his  heart,  were  always 
open  for  every  good  word  and  work.  Solomon  said :  '  There  is 
that  scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth  ; '  and  Mr.  Dodge  illustrated  and 
enforced  that  declaration. 


TRIBUTES.  345 

"Simple  in  his  tastes,  cordial  in  his  manner,  overflowing  with 
hospitable  good-nature,  sagacious  in  judgment,  and  often  shrewd 
in  his  way  of  putting  things,  we  can  hardly  think  of  any  man 
who  could  be  so  much  missed  from  the  Christian  and  benevolent 
work  of  the  city  where  he  lived,  and  the  land  for  which,  by  his 
fine  and  lofty  example,  as  well  as  in  all  lesser  ways,  he  did  so  much 
so  well. 

"  Nearly  as  well  known  by  good  men  abroad  as  here,  Mr. 
Dodge's  death  will  stir  the  hearts  of  Christians  everywhere,  and 
call  forth  such  honorable  mention  as  is  given,  as  their  reward, 
to  few." 

"  Actively  as  he  was  engaged  in  business,  Mr.  Dodge  gave  earn- 
est and  invaluable  service  to  the  Church  and  to  these  Christian 
and  charitable  organizations,  performed  an  incessant  FrQm 
round  of  social  duties,  and  was  everywhere  a  genial,  Christian  in- 
outspoken,  decided  Christian.  His  activity  as  we  look 
back  upon  it  seems  amazing,  his  unvarying  urbanity  and  courteous 
sympathy  no  less  wonderful.  His  life  is  a  model.  Almost  to  the 
last  his  mind  was  keen,  sprightly,  energetic,  and  at  over  three- 
score and  ten  years  he  seemed  younger  than  other  men  at  sixty. 
This  city  has  lost  one  of  its  best  citizens  in  the  highest  and  com- 
pletest  sense,  and  the  Church  of  Christ  is  deprived  of  the  presence 
of  a  member  and  leader  of  inexpressible  value." 

"  New  York  has  scarcely  a  citizen  whose  loss  will  be  more  widely 
felt  than  is  that  of  William  E.  Dodge.  Long  since  old,  as  years 
count,  he  seemed  nevertheless  so  fresh,  so  elastic,  so 

From  the 

active,  that  the  first  thought  is  apt  to  be  that  he  has  New  York 
been  cut  off  untimely  —  almost  in  his  prime  —  this 
young-old  man  of  seventy-eight.  He  was  cheery  and  busy  to  the 
last.  Presiding  at  a  meeting  in  the  Cooper  Institute,  giving 
watchful  attention  in  his  office  to  his  private  business,  attending 
a  meeting  of  Delaware  and  Lackawanna  directors  to  help  along 
a  young  man  in  whom  he  took  an  interest,  assisting  his  wife  at  a 
reception  at  his  house,  inspecting  her  Christian  Home  for  Intem- 
perate Women,  —  these  were  his  employments  through  the  last 
days  of  last  week,  and  they  fairly  illustrate  his  way  of  life  for  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century.  In  all  New  York  we  scarcely  know  a  man 
who  has  more  consistently  and  continuously  used  larger  means 


346  TRIBUTES. 

more  unostentatiously,  and  often  almost  secretly,  in  absolutely  un- 
selfish efforts  to  promote  the  good  of  others.  Orphans  protected, 
inebriates  reclaimed  and  encouraged,  poor  young  men  carried 
through  college,  home  missionaries  on  the  frontier  sustained, — 
these  are  some  of  the  classes  of  people  who  can  best  tell  of  his 
work,  and  will  be  most  saddened  by  the  news  of  his  death.  But 
all  New  York  has  for  half  a  century  known  him  not  only  as  a  sin- 
gularly able  and  successful  merchant,  but  also  as  an  upright  man, 
a  public-spirited  citizen,  and  an  active  laborer  in  the  cause  of  sound 
public  morals.  He  goes  to  his  honored  grave  mourned  by  the  city, 
and  without  an  enemy." 

"  Among  the  many  shining  lessons  of  his  life  to  the  youth  of  the 
land,  for  whom  he  did  so  much  and  before  whom  he  will  doubtless 
Gen  s.  c.  always  be  held  as  an  example,  one  of  the  brightest  and 
ARMSTRONG,  most  useful  is  the  wisdom  of  sending  your  principles 

in  the  South-  .         -  .  ... 

em  Work-  to  the  front,  carrying  your  colors  flying.  Nobody 
man-  was  ever  at  a  loss  on  which  side  to  find  him.  Con- 

verted to  God,  as  he  believed,  when  a  mere  boy,  his  first  question 
was  the  same  as  Paul's :  '  Lord,  what  writ  thou  have  me  to  dot'1 
and  he  thought  it  answered  by  the  very  first  opportunity  that  came 
for  doing  good  and  doing  right.  It  did  not  seem  to  interfere  with 
his  diligence  in  business  or  his  success  to  be  fervent  in  spirit,  serv- 
ing the  Lord.  As  soon  as  he  began  to  support  himself,  he  became 
a  city  missionary,  going  about  in  the  worst  slums  of  New  York 
to  lift  bodies  and  souls  out  of  the  mire  of  poverty  and  vice, 
picking  up  here  and  there  a  little  ragamuffin  and  giving  him  his 
first  chance  at  a  better  life.  .  Increasing  wealth  did  not  have  on 
him  its  frequent  effect  of  hardening  the  heart  and  lowering  the 
moral  standards,  because  he  lived  up  to  his  principles  as  he  went 
along,  and  increasing  wealth  only  increased  his  power  of  demon- 
strating them." 

"  A  large  space,  but  lately  filled  by  a  strong,  good  man,  has  been 
suddenly  made  vacant  in  the  front  rank  of  human  usefulness  in 
Mr.  EDWARD  America.  For  nearly  half  a  century  the  name  of  Mr. 
KIMBALL,  Dodge  has  stood  for  courage,  intelligence,  industry, 
San  Fran-  '  integrity,  sagacity,  fidelity,  and  success  in  public  and 
business  life,  while  godliness,  gentleness,  patience,  be- 
nevolence, and  hospitality  graced  and  ornamented  his  every  work, 


TRIBUTES. 


347 


walk,  and  way  among  men.  Mr.  Dodge  was  emphatically  a 
business  man.  He  excelled  in  planning  and  working.  He  began 
his  business  life  as  a  boy,  and  opened  and  swept  the  store  of  his 
employers,  going  also  to  the  post-office,  where  he,  with  others, 
formed  the  little  line  waiting  for  letters  at  the  one  small '  delivery ' 
of  the  mail  of  the  infant  city  of  New  York.  He  did  this  work  Well, 
and  with  an  ever-cheerful  and  scrupulous  fidelity.  His  seat  in 
church  was  never  vacant.  No  Christian  duty  was  neglected. 

"  Thus  and  there  he  laid  the  foundations  of  his  character,  and  in 
this  manner  he  built  it  up  for  threescore  and  ten  years.  His  life 
was  an  ever-flowing  stream  of  help,  wisdom,  encouragement,  and 
love,  which  touched  and  made  glad  despairing  hearts. 

"  His  large  benevolences,  high  reputation,  and  ample  means  made 
him  a  target  for  constant  applications  for  help.  These  he  carefully 
examined,  either  personally  or  by  an  able  and  judicious  assistant, 
and  his  generous,  faithful  heart  dealt  suitably  with  them  all.  Knav- 
ery, cupidity,  and  avarice  sometimes  levelled  both  covert  and  open 
attacks,  by  suit  and  otherwise,  upon  the  business  or  resources  of 
himself  and  his  firm.  These  he  always  met  with  a  courage  and 
calmness  born  of  conscious  rectitude,  and  so  he  passed  on 
unscathed. 

"Mr.  Dodge's  personal  appearance  was  remarkable  and  most 
attractive ;  of  medium  stature,  erect,  alert,  active,  and  graceful  in 
movement,  his  quick,  kindly  look,  genial,  frank  smile,  and  warm, 
whole-hand  grasp,  went  straight  to  the  heart  of  all  good  men  and 
women  who  approached  him.  Even  in  his  later  years  a  delicate, 
rich  color  glowed  on  his  cheek,  and  his  face  and  bearing  were 
animation  itself.  He  looked  to  be  his  own  junior  by  a  full  score 
of  years.  He  was  born  in  1805,  and  so  lived  well  on  towards  four- 
score. In  these  later  years,  to  visit  his  home  and  spend  an  hour 
with  him  and  his  lovely  and  excellent  wife,  was  like  visiting  a 
shrine ;  while  the  very  house  was  filled  with  a  spirit  of  instant 
and  sympathetic  co-operation  with  every  form  of  Christian  and 
philanthropic  activity." 

"  One  of  the  greatest  philanthropists  of  the  age  died  Friday 

morning,  February  9,  at  his  residence  in  New  York  From  the  Ad. 

city.     Mr.  Dodge  was  known  as  a  man  of  sterling  vance,  Chicago, 

character   and   of  almost  world-wide  benevolence.  He    had  a 


348  TRIBUTES. 

quick  eye  to  see  and  a  ready  hand  to  help  in  all  great  move- 
ments for  the  Christian  civilization  of  this  age.  He  was  a 
Presbyterian ;  but  his  thorough  loyalty  to  that  denomination  did 
not  prevent  a  close  devotion  to  the  work  of  all  other  denomina- 
tions on  this  continent.  He  was  a  devoted  Christian,  and  in  all 
business  transactions  he  exhibited  the  highest  ideal  of  that  pro- 
fession. As  a  merchant  and  congressman,  as  the  president  and 
director  of  great  corporations  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  as  a  projector  of  railroads  and  other  corporations,  he  was 
everywhere  known  as  an  earnest,  conscientious  Christian.  He  was 
foremost  among  the  temperance  agitators  of  his  day,  and  in  all 
moral  reforms  William  E.  Dodge  was  known  as  an  active  helper. 
The  world  has  lost  one  of  its  best  citizens,  and  the  Church  one 
of  its  most  beloved  members. 

"  His  death,  which  was  unexpected  by  all,  found  this  good  man 
ready.  His  life  had  made  him  well  acquainted  with  the  land  to 
which  he  was  going.  No  earthly  possessions  or  ties  ever  were 
strong  enough  to  anchor  his  soul  to  this  world.  All  his  hopes 
were  in  heaven." 

"  Other  distinguished  men  might  have  been  taken,  whose  loss 

in  single  directions  might  have  been  greater ;  but  we  hardly  know 

another  man  whose  life  touched  so  many  points  of 

Rev.  M.S.  GOOD-      .        . 

ALE,  D.D.,  in  vital  interest  to  the  welfare  of  the  city  at  large  as  did 
the  Amsterdam  thi  good  man  Endowed  with  powers  of  mind 

Democrat.  ^     ° 

which  made  him  efficient  in  every  department  of  his 
career,  commercial  as  well  as  benevolent,  his  character  was  rounded 
out  so  as  to  fit  him  for  exerting  a  strong  and  wide  influence  for 
good  in  a  great  variety  of  directions. 

"  To  refer  to  a  single  department  of  his  religious  work,  in  which 
we  were  officially  associated  for  twenty  years  or  more,  as  corporate 
members  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions.  It  was  my  privilege  frequently  to  meet  him  at  the 
annual  gatherings  of  this  Board,  and  his  presence  was  always  an 
inspiration  and  help  to  his  associates  and  friends  of  the  cause. 

"  He  was  always  cheerful  and  hopeful  himself,  and  more  than 
once  have  I  heard  his  clarion  voice  ring  out  over  the  vast  assem- 
blies when  others  were  in  danger  of  doubt  and  despondency.  He 
never  spoke  without  moving  others  in  the  right  direction,  and  his 


TRIBUTES. 


349 


wonderful  discrimination  enabled  him  always  to  speak  at  just  the 
right  time  and  to  utter  just  the  needed  words,  and  with  the  full  and 
overflowing  heart  of  love  which  made  them  felt  by  others." 

"  Mr.  Dodge's  death  will  be  deeply  felt  by  hundreds  who  have 
been  the  unannounced  but  grateful  receivers  of  his  private  benefac- 
tions. He  leaves  behind  him  few  peers  in  intelligent, 

r  From   Zion's 

practical,  and  active   benevolence   and  personal  re-     Herald,  BOS- 
ligious  zeal  among  circles  of  wealth. 

"  He  carried  his  principles  with  him  into  the  highest  social 
circles  of  the  land.  Devoutly  pious  and  peculiarly  happy  in  the 
expression  of  his  piety,  he  has  been  a  daily  and  effectual  evangelist 
wherever  he  has  moved." 

"  Thus  in  a  moment  passed  from  earth  one  of  the  most  active, 
persevering,  unceasing  laborers  in  every  work  which  pertained  to 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  man.  A  soldier  From  the  Pres 
who  stood  in  his  place  and  fought  his  battle  on  byterian  obser- 
principle  before  the  Church  and  in  the  world  for  ver>  Baltimorc- 
fifty  years,  fell  with  his  armor  on,  pressing  the  battle  even  to  the 
gate  of  the  enemy,  on  every  moral  and  religious  question  which 
presented  itself  to  the  Christian  community, — always  in  the  advance, 
always  prompt,  always  in  earnest,  whether  in  great  or  small,  at 
home  or  abroad,  never  so  busy  that  he  could  not  receive  a  mes- 
sage sent  by  his  Master  even  on  what  appeared  a  trivial  matter, 
from  the  giving  of  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands,  down  to 
the  cup  of  cold  water,  ministering  to  the  comfort  of  a  child  by  the 
wayside. 

"We  have  known  him  intimately  since  1866, — beginning  in 
this  way  :  A  poor  colored  boy,  son  of  an  infirm  wood-sawyer  of  this 
city,  came  to  get  a  little  help  to  learn  to  read.  We  gave  him  the 
Shorter  Catechism,  and  in  a  little  while  he  committed  it  to  memory. 
His  anxiety  to  learn  increased,  and  we  suggested  that  if  it  were 
possible  he  might  go  to  Lincoln  University.  We  wrote  a  letter  on 
his  behalf,  giving  an  opinion  concerning  him,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M. 
Dickey,  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Lincoln  University, 
then  Ashmun  Institute.  He  enclosed  the  letter  to  Mr.  Dodge,  who 
wrote  back  :  '  Send  the  boy  on,  and  give  him  the  whole  course,  at 
my  expense.'  This  was  but  a  little  cup  of  cold  water ;  but  that  boy 
went  through  his  course  with  credit,  and  to-day  stands  among  the 


350  TRIBUTES. 

most  eloquent  and  able  men  of  his  color  in  this  country.  That 
was  only  one  instance,  but  he  followed  it  up  by  dozens  and  scores ; 
and  as  a  trustee  from  that  until  the  last  time  we  met,  he  has  been 
heartily  in  earnest,  in  every  way  that  he  could,  to  build  up  and 
advance  the  institution,  attending  as  regularly  as  he  could  the 
meetings  of  the  Board,  endowing  professorships,  interesting  others 
in  it  to  do  the  same,  arranging  and  attending  meetings  to  awaken 
interest  among  moneyed  men,  attending  at  commencements,  and 
joining  and  rejoicing  in  their  exercises,  repeatedly  expressing  how 
richly  he  had  been  paid  for  every  dollar  he  had  given  and  all  the 
labor  he  had  bestowed,  in  all  of  which  he  was  seconded  most 
heartily  by  his  excellent  wife. 

"  We  wish  to  give  prominence  to  the  character  of  the  man,  the 
true  realization  of  his  position  as  a  servant  and  soldier  of  God. 
That 's  the  highest  character  that  any  man  can  have  on  this  earth, 
—  a  servant  of  God,  a  soldier  of  Christ!  With  what  life  he 
would  join  in  singing  that  hymn,  — 

"  Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  Cross  ? 
A  follower  of  the  Lamb  ? 

It  seemed  to  enliven  him  as  much  as  any  Christian  at  a  revival 
meeting,  or  a  soldier  in  the  army  meetings  during  the  war. 

"  He  did  not  wait  to  be  dunned,  to  be  argued  with,  if  the  cause 
was  proper.  He  seemed  to  realize  that  the  presenting  of  it  to  him 
was  by  his  Master  in  the  person  of  the  individual,  and  as  if  he  was 
waiting  to  see  how  or  where  he  could  use  his  Master's  money  for 
his  Master's  use.  He  did  not  leave  it  for  others  coming  after  him, 
as  many  do  who  cannot  give  it  out  of  their  hands  until  death 
is  just  coming,  and  then  they  make  great  bequests,  thinking  to 
bribe  the  Almighty  with  what  they  kept  from  him  as  long  as  they 
could  hold  it,  or  leave  it  to  others  to  make  a  monument  to  their 
names,  by  doing  what  they  would  never  have  done  with  it  if  they 
could  live.  Mr.  Dodge  realized  it  was  not  his,  —  that  it  was  put 
in  his  hand  as  a  steward  to  use  for  his  Master,  and  he  literally 
labored  earnestly  to  put  it  to  use  while  he  lived.  Wise  man  that 
he  was,  he  was  diligently  laying  up  treasure  in  heaven,  becom- 
ing rich  towards  God.  He  lived  to  see  and  enjoy  much  of  the 
heavenly  foretaste  here  in  the  fruits  that  had  come  from  his  labors ; 
but  they  will  be  showing  from  generation  to  generation  in  many 


TRIBUTES.  351 

ways  from  so  many  fields,  as  he  sowed  beside  all  waters  and 
at  all  times. 

"The  great  characteristics  of  Mr.  Dodge  were  energy  and 
earnestness,  with  promptness  in  his  business ;  but  they  were  all 
intensified  in  his  Christian,  religious  life.  He  was  in  every  sense 
of  the  word  a  Christian,  —  having  the  love  of  a  Christian,  the 
faith  of  a  Christian,  the  zeal  of  a  Christian,  and  all  the  other 
marks  of  an  humble  Christian.  With  him  religion  was  a  living, 
practical  matter  everywhere,  in  the  use  of  all  such  means  as  God 
put  in  his  power,  with  an  humble  dependence  upon  His  Divine  aid, 
and  consciousness  of  his  own  nothingness,  and  a  heart  that  gave 
all  glory  to  God." 

"  One  of  the  great  charms  of  the  late  William  E.  Dodge  was 
his  geniality.     He  was  always  kindly  to  those  with  whom  he  came 
into  contact.    This  was  not  a  manner  assumed  for  a 
purpose.     It  would  not  have  had  the  fine  flavor  it    BUCRY)  in  'theINii-S 

possessed  had  it  been  put  on  even  with  the  artful-    Crated    Chris- 
tian Weekly, 
ness  of  the  demagogue.     The  geniality  of  this  good 

man  was  genuine.  It  grew  out  of  a  Christian  heart,  and  was  the 
expression  of  a  benevolent  feeling  towards  all  mankind. 

"  His  presence  and  speech  at  a  public  meeting  were  always  wel- 
come. He  had  seen  the  population  of  the  city  increase  tenfold 
during  his  residence  here.  In  an  interesting  lecture,  which  he  sev- 
eral times  repeated,  he  gave  his  reminiscences  of  '  Old  New  York,' 
and  described  the  small  city  of  fifty  years  ago  in  contrast  with  the 
great  metropolis  of  the  present  day.  While  he  arrogated  nothing 
to  himself,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he  has  helped,  at  least 
as  much  as  any  other  one  individual,  to  form  and  fashion  that 
progress. 

"  But  the  crowning  glory  of  Mr.  Dodge's  life  was  his  sincere 
and  simple  piety.  As  has  been  said,  he  became  a  professing  Chris- 
tian at  twelve  years  of  age.  It  was  the  early  consecration  to  Christ 
that  had  no  small  share  in  forming  the  character  in  its  symmetry 
and  fruitfulness.  His  piety  was  of  the  genial  type.  The  present 
writer  remembers  him  as  superintendent  of  the  first  Sabbath- school 
which  he  attended.  His  genial  bearing,  his  hearty  words,  his  man- 
ifest interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  scholars,  are  recalled 
over  the  wide  gap  of  a  full  generation.  So,  a  little  later,  when  he 


352  TRIBUTES. 

was  one  of  the  session  of  the  Fourteenth  Street  Presbyterian 
Church,  his  ever-cheerful  presence,  and  his  stimulating  words  and 
petitions  in  the  prayer-meeting,  are  gratefully  called  to  mind.  No 
one  could  know  Mr.  Dodge  and  not  know  that  he  was  a  happy 
Christian.  And  yet  his  piety  was  not  ostentatious  or  wordy ;  it 
lay  at  the  very  roots  of  his  character,  and  so  shaped  and  colored, 
yes,  and  vitalized,  his  whole  life. 

"  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  man  who  seemed  to  realize  the 
Scriptural  idea  of  stewardship  more  thoroughly  than  Mr.  Dodge. 
Certainly  such  men  among  those  whom  Providence  permits  to 
accumulate  large  fortunes  are  rare  indeed.  For  this  good  man 
will  be  known  to  coming  generations,  not  so  much  as  the  sagacious 
business  man,  the  prince  among  merchants,  but  as  the  Christian 
philanthropist.  His  charities  have  been  very  great.  He  was 
always  giving,  —  to  the  poverty-stricken,  in  aid  of  young  men  pre- 
paring for  the  ministry,  towards  church-building,  for  educational 
institutions,  for  tract-work,  for  promoting  the  temperance  cause,  in 
which  he  was  an  enthusiastic  worker,  for  lifting  up  the  fallen,  in 
promoting  missions  at  home  and  abroad.  Indeed,  no  worthy 
charity  appealed  to  him  in  vain,  though  he  was  discriminating  in 
his  gifts.  And  he  gave  not  money  alone ;  he  gave  his  personal 
energy  and  influence." 

"  There  was  wisdom  in  his  philanthropy.  He  did  not  build  up 
some  special  institution  as  a  monument,  but  bestowed  his  money 
The  Rev  A  H  uPon  hundreds  of  worthy  charities.  The  world  never 
MOMENT,  New  knew  of  one  half  that  he  gave  away,  for  his  giving  was 
not  ostentatious.  He  was  not  only  a  philanthropist 
in  his  giving,  but  also  in  his  daily  intercourse  with  men.  Kindly 
sympathy  and  hearty  words  of  cheer  he  was  always  ready  to  bestow 
upon  those  who  needed  them  most." 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  generous  not  merely  because  he  could  well 

afford  it,  but  because  the  very  principles  of  his  life  involved  and 

invoked  this  generosity.     I  once  thanked  him  for  his 

Rev.  GEORGE  J.  ' 

MINGINS,  New  assistance,  and,  smiling,  he  said  :  '  Make  the  best  use 
of  it.  It  is  His  as  well  as  mine.'  Mr.  Dodge  looked 
upon  his  wealth  as  the  gift  of  his  God,  and  upon  himself  as  God's 
steward.  He  believed  that  in  giving  he  made  himself  rich,  and  he 
was  right.  ...  He  was  the  most  cheerful  giver  I  ever  knew.  He 


TRIBUTES.  353 

gave  with  sympathy,  and  was  not  only  benevolent,  but  also  benefi- 
cent. He  was  a  true  friend  to  me,  and  no  one  of  all  his  friends 
to-night  can  feel  more  deeply  than  I  his  loss.  He  was  a  true 
Samaritan,  healing  the  wounds  of  body,  mind,  and  estate,  and  was 
a  true  Christian  gentleman.  His  voice  was  a  song,  and  his  advice 
an  inspiration." 

"  He  continued  to  be  a  Puritan  to  the  end  of  his  noble  life,  but 
without  any  sour,  severe  austerities.     The  solid  rock  was  well  over- 
grown with  fragrant  flowers,  but  the  rock  was  there, 
In  an  age  of  increasing  laxities  on  many  questions  of  Rev- Dr-  THEO- 

„,       .       .  .  ,  ,  ,  ,.  DORE    CUYLKR. 

Christian  practice,  and  exposed  to  the  peculiar  temp- 
tations of  wealth  and  social  prominence,  Mr.  Dodge  the  man  never 
outgrew  or  even  diluted  the  ingrained  Puritanism  of  his  boyhood. 
The  world  knew  him  most  widely  for  his  munificent  gifts  of  money 
to  innumerable  objects ;  but  after  thirty  years  of  intimate  inter- 
course with  him,  I  was  never  half  so  much  impressed  by  his 
generosity  as  by  his  intense,  immovable  conscientiousness.  So 
emotional  in  his  temperament  that  he  cried  like  a  child  under 
Cough's  stories  or  Sankey's  songs,  yet  the  central  trunk  of  his 
religion  was  conscience.  The  word  '  ought '  always  gave  the  casting- 
vote.  .  .  .  No  one  dared  to  look  into  his  honest,  loving  eye  and 
call  him  pharisee.  A  God-honoring  conscience  was  the  tap-root 
of  his  character ;  and  the  loss  of  such  a  conscience  is  a  sorer  be- 
reavement to  this  community  and  the  country  than  the  loss  of  his 
bountiful  purse. 

" '  If  all  Christians  were  like  William  E.  Dodge,  more  of  us 
outsiders  would  be  converted  to  Christianity.'  Admitting  the 
justice  of  this  tribute  from  an  '  outsider '  to  the  character  of  that 
noble  disciple  of  Christ  who  has  just  been  translated  to  his  crown, 
it  leads  directly  to  one  most  undeniable  truth ;  namely,  that  the 
glory  of  Mr.  Dodge's  character  and  career  was  his  genuine,  un- 
selfish piety.  No  one  could  say  more  truly,  '  By  the  grace  of  God 
I  am  what  I  am.'  All  the  lustre  of  that  beautiful  life  was  reflected 
from  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ 

"  The  phrase  '  Christian  worker  '  is  used  so  freely  nowadays  in 
certain  quarters  that  to  some  it  savors  of  repulsive  cant.  To  our 
departed  brother  it  belonged  as  rightfully  as  it  did  to  Barnabas  or 
Paul.  Presiding  at  public  meetings  or  sitting  in  boards  of  Christian 

23 


354  TRIBUTES. 

benevolence,  are  the  utmost  extent  of  many  excellent  men's  labors ; 
but  Mr.  Dodge  was  taught  by  that  master-workman  Harlan  Page, 
fifty  years  ago,  that  the  true  method  of  winning  souls  to  Christ  is 
by  close  personal  appeal. 

"  For  many  years,  and  at  an  early  period,  when  in  the  sphere  of 
what  is  called  good  society  to  be  a  total  abstainer  was  to  be,  much 
more  than  now,  deemed  fanatical,  Mr.  Dodge  conscientiously  but 
courteously  declined  wine  on  all  occasions,  and  of  course  would 
not  provide  it,  as  a  symbol  of  hospitality,  for  others.  In  this  im- 
portant respect  Mr.  Dodge  has  also  on  many  occasions  of  great 
social  distinction  been  the  unconscious  but  most  effective  preacher 
to  many  preachers  of  the  Gospel." 

The  venerable  Mark  Hopkins,  D.D.,  was  elected  to  suc- 
ceed Mr.  Dodge  as  president  of  the  National  Temperance 
Society.  Upon  taking  the  chair  at  the  nineteenth  anni- 
versary of  this  organization,  he  said :  — 

"  It  is  no  mortification  to  me,  my  friends,  to  find  myself  here 
to-night  in  the  place  of  one  whose  place  I  cannot  fill.  There  is 
no  man  living,  as  I  think,  who  could  fill  the  place  of  Mr.  Dodge 
as  president  of  the  American  Temperance  Society.  He  was,  like 
Washington  in  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  its  first  Presi- 
dent. There  was  that  in  his  personality,  in  the  labors  which  he 
had  performed  for  this  Society,  in  his  relations  to  the  society  of 
New  York,  and  in  his  g'eneral  benevolence,  which  gave  him  spe- 
cial fitness  for  the  position.  He  did  not  come  to  it  with  the 
narrow  and  exaggerated  view  of  the  partisan  of  a  single  branch  of 
reform.  He  brought  to  it  the  prestige  of  a  sympathizing  heart 
that  felt  for  every  form  of  human  wretchedness,  and  also  open- 
handed  and  liberal  beneficence  that  gave  freely  to  every  form  of 
effort  that  promises  to  uplift  our  humanity.  Still,  in  looking  at 
the  causes  which  depress  humanity,  this  use  of  intoxicating  drinks 
was  so  prominent  that  he  had  special  interest  in  this  cause  of 
temperance ;  so  much  so  that  he  made  it  one  of  the  last  labors 
of  his  life  to  place  this  Society  on  a  firm  footing.  He  gave 
to  it  most  liberally,  he  made  personal  solicitations  for  it,  and 
he  founded  a  fund  for  the  continuance  of  its  publications ;  and 


TRIBUTES.  355 

through  the  Society,  and  through  that  fund,  he  being  dead  yet 
speaketh,  and  will  speak  for  generations  to  come. 

"  Now,  it  is  the  work  of  this  Society  of  which  we  have  just  heard, 
for  which  he  thus  labored,  which  we  are  called  upon  to  carry  for- 
ward ;  and,  as  I  judge,  we  are  to  do  it  in  the  spirit  in  which  he 
carried  it  forward.  In  the  double  work  of  reform,  the  tendency 
of  Mr.  Dodge  was  towards  sympathy  and  helpfulness  rather  than 
combativeness.  Evil  must  be  met,  wicked  men  must  be  opposed, 
the  stern  '  no '  must  be  said ;  but  if  this  was  done  for  the  purpose 
of  uplifting  those  who  are  struggling,  for  the  purpose  of  building 
up  some  good  cause,  there  is  danger  that  there  will  be  a  tendency 
towards  censoriousness  and  denunciation  and  fanaticism.  And 
there  are  those,  I  think,  who  suppose  that  some  of  the  advocates 
of  this  cause  have  not  entirely  escaped  such  a  spirit.  But  of  this 
spirit  and  tendency  there  was  not  one  particle  in  Mr.  Dodge.  He 
had  nothing  of  that  spirit  of  the  disciples  which  would  call  down 
fire  from  heaven  upon  those  who  did  not  follow  with  them.  I  never 
heard  him  utter  a  harsh  word ;  I  do  not  believe  he  ever  did  utter 
one  in  regard  to  those  whose  methods  of  work  differed  from  his 
own.  On  the  other  hand,  he  welcomed  every  sincere  effort  for  the 
arrest  of  the  progress  of  intemperance.  And  this  largeness  of  view, 
this  kindliness  of  disposition,  was  manifested  fully  in  the  position 
which  he  held ;  and,  taken  in  connection  with  what  I  may  call  a 
heroic  example,  it  gave  him  that  personal  influence  which  is  so 
essential  to  those  who  would  reform  others. 

"  I  said  that  Mr.  Dodge's  example  was  heroic.  It  was  so 
because  he  had  the  fullest  means  at  his  command  of  personal 
gratification  ;  because  it  was  opposed  to  the  example  and  the 
spirit,  almost  universal,  of  those  with  whom  he  was  associated ; 
and  because  it  sprang  from  a  heroic  motive.  There  was  not  in 
him  a  particle  of  asceticism.  No  man  was  more  cheerful  or  joy- 
ous, or  enjoyed  more  perfectly  those  tasteful  and  beautiful  influences 
which  wealth  can  procure.  No  !  it  was  not  from  any  asceticism. 
It  was  because  he  felt  that  he  thus  gained  a  foothold  which  would 
enable  him,  when  he  reached  his  hand  down  to  lift  up  a  struggling 
brother,  to  do  it  more  effectually.  And  it  did  give  such  a  foot- 
hold ;  and  knowing  this,  it  was  the  very  spirit  of  Christ  in  him 
which  induced  him  to  do  this.  He  asked  no  abstract  question ; 
but  seeing  that  his  influence  here  and  now  for  good  would  be  thus 


356  TRIBUTES. 

promoted,  he  adopted  at  once  the  principle  of  the  apostle,  —  that 
if  meat  would  make  his  brother  to  offend,  he  would  eat  no  meat 
while  the  world  stood." 

"  A  useful  life  and  an  honored  one,  to  be  pointed  at  through 
all  coming  time  as  a  guide  to  the  young,  as  a  model  life  upon 
The  Hon.  NBAL  which  every  man  may  safely  form  his  own,  —  honor- 
Dow-  ing  God  and  his  country,  every  thought  and  word 

and  act  intended  and  calculated  to  promote  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  the  human  family." 

"  Not  long  ago  Mr.  Dodge  stood  on  the  platform  where  I  now 
stand  and  pleaded  the  cause  of  Christian  temperance.  There  is 
The  Rev  T  DK  not  a  S1"6^  cnarity  °f  these  cities  in  behalf  of  which 
WITT  TALMAGE,  his  voice  has  not  been  lifted  and  his  generous  hand 
opened.  A  millionnaire,  and  yet  as  unpretentious  as 
when,  a  poor  boy,  he  came  to  New  York  to  win  his  first  dollar. 
So  genial,  so  large-minded,  so  great-hearted,  his  death  is  a  calamity 
to  Christendom.  When  the  history  of  the  great  Christian  and 
benevolent  enterprises  of  this  century  is  written,  there  will  be  no 
more  honored  or  beloved  name  than  that  of  William  E.  Dodge." 

"  A  noble  and  beneficent  life  has  been  brought  to  a  sud- 
den close.  Of  the  many  items  of  business  and  news  flashed 
Mr.  JOHN  TAV-  through  the  Atlantic  cable  last  Friday,  not  one  will 
TempeL«Re^  call  forth  deeper  sympathy  and  feeling.  Mr.  Dodge's 
on*-  life  was  many-sided.  What  specially  concerns  us 

was  his  thorough  and  consistent  advocacy  of  temperance  during  the 
past  half  century.  Not  only  as  one  of  the  pioneers  does  he  take 
a  foremost  place  in  the  history  of  the  temperance  reformation,  but 
by  his  untiring  service  and  by  his  generous  contributions  he  must 
be  regarded  as  one  of  its  greatest  benefactors.  But  the  tem- 
perance cause  was  only  one  amongst  many;  for  to  every  phase  of 
Christian  work  he  gave  most  valuable  help  and  encouragement, 
notably  to  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 

"  As  in  morals,  so  in  business  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  pioneer.  Be- 
yond and  above  the  making  a  profit  was  the  intent  to  aid  the  indus- 
tries and  develop  the  resources  of  his  country.  Years  ago,  in  the 
northwest  of  Pennsylvania,  his  courage  and  foresight  sustained  the 
embryo  coal  and  iron  industries  of  that  district,  which  led  to  their 


TRIBUTES. 


357 


successful  development ;  and  to  him  was  accorded  the  honor  of 
turning  the  first  sod  of  the  Central  Railway  of  New  Jersey,  con- 
necting the  said  northwestern  district  of  Pennsylvania  with  New 
Jersey  City. 

"  By  these  operations  and  by  his  original  business  as  an  iron 
merchant  he  acquired  considerable  wealth, — which  no  one  grudged, 
for  he  dispensed  his  riches  with  a  princely  hand.  His  giving  was 
twice  blessed,  —  the  gift  and  the  manner  of  giving ;  and  how  much 
blessing  was  thus  brought  to  his  own  soul  is  beyond  what  we  can 
estimate.  We  cannot  give  at  this  time  anything  like  a  complete 
picture  of  his  life  and  character ;  but  this  we  will  say,  that  his  was 
eminently  a  happy  life.  Though  not  free  from  trials,  he  was  spe- 
cially happy  in  his  family  life ;  and  four  years  ago  he  celebrated  his 
golden  wedding  amidst  a  wide  and  loving  circle  of  children,  grand- 
children, and  friends.  Mrs.  Dodge,  who  survives  her  husband,  is 
like-minded  with  him  in  her  sunny  disposition,  her  loving  kindness, 
and  her  active  benevolence. 

"  This  happy  life  of  his  constitutes  a  noble  lesson,  especially  to 
young  men.  It  did  not  come  by  chance.  It  was  not  due  to  his 
success  in  business,  but  was  due  rather  to  his  manly  piety,  to  his 
thorough  unselfishness,  to  his  constant  thought  of  and  labor  for 
others,  to  his  wide-spread  sympathies,  and  the  many  friends  in 
both  hemispheres  attracted  by  his  varied  work  and  his  abundant 
hospitalities ;  due  also  in  great  measure  to  a  life  healthy  through 
abstinence  from  alcohol  and  all  other  narcotics,  and  healthy  through 
his  vigorous  industry  and  active  life.  Young  men  should  take  note 
that,  discarding  those  very  things  that  some  regard  as  essential  to 
the  enjoyment  of  life,  he  from  youth  to  age  enjoyed  life  to  the  very 
utmost.  It  seems  but  a  few  days  since  we  were  with  him  in  New 
York  and  at  Tarrytown  ;  and  he  was  then,  as  ever,  almost  boyish 
in  his  activity  and  light-heartedness.  '  Light  is  sown  for  the  right- 
eous, and  gladness  for  the  upright  in  heart.'  It  is  a  touching  re- 
membrance, our  last  farewell  to  him  and  to  Mrs.  Dodge.  Decem- 
ber i,  the  evening  before  our  return  voyage,  we  had  to  see  a 
mutual  friend  and  near  neighbor,  and  afterwards  called  to  take  a 
final  leave.  The  time  for  evening  prayer  drew  near,  and  together 
we  mingled  the  note  of  thanksgiving,  commending  one  another 
to  the  protecting  care  of  our  loving  Father  in  heaven.  And  so  we 
parted." 


358  TRIBUTES. 

To  visitors  from  the  mother-country  Mr.  Dodge  was  ever 
kind  and  hospitable.  One  of  these  (Dr.  Dawson  Burns) 
writes  in  the  "  London  Temperance  Record  : "  — 

"  After  presiding  with  great  urbanity  over  a  company  of  tem- 
perance friends  convened  to  meet  me  at  the  rooms  of  the  Christian 
Young  Men's  Association,  Mr.  Dodge  insisted  on  my  accompany- 
ing him  to  Tarrytown,  about  sixteen  miles  from  New  York,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  Here,  at  his  beautiful  mansion,  I  met 
Mrs.  Dodge,  then  an  invalid,  and  spent  one  of  the  pleasantest 
afternoons  it  is  possible  to  enjoy.  He  laid  himself  out  to  make 
me  feel  at  home,  and  nothing  could  resist  his  radiant  geniality. 
In  connection  with  a  charming  drive,  he  called  at  the  house  long 
inhabited  by  the  late  Washington  Irving,  still  in  the  occupancy 
of  the  latter's  sisters,  and  procured  me  a  sight  of  the  library  as  it 
was  left  by  the  distinguished  writer.  Mr.  Dodge's  only  regret  was 
that  I  could  not  prolong  the  visit,  and  thus  receive  multiplied 
marks  of  a  friendship  that  was  as  unaffected  as  it  was  profuse.  I 
hope  no  American  will  feel  aggrieved  by  my  saying  that  Mr.  Dodge 
—  who  was  then  (1880),  I  think,  in  his  seventy- eighth  year  — 
seemed  to  me  the  beau-ideal  of  '  the  fine  old  English  gentleman ' 
celebrated  in  song,  saving  the  absence  of  certain  Bacchanalian 
traits  which  never  have  improved  any  gentleman,  old  or  young. 
Among  the  chief  merchants  of  the  second  mercantile  city  in  the 
world  Mr.  Dodge  held  a  high  position ;  but  as  a  Christian  philan- 
thropist and  a  leader  of  the  purest  tendencies  of  his  age  and 
nation,  Mr.  Dodge  occupied  a  place  equalled  by  few,  and  perhaps 
excelled  by  none.  America  will  be  much  poorer  for  his  decease, 
unless  his  example  is  cherished  and  emulated  by  the  countrymen 
he  served  so  well." 

Mr.  James  H.  Raper  writes  in  the  same  journal :  "  No  one  can 
regard  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  W.  E.  Dodge 
with  more  deep  sympathetic  interest  than  I  do.  I  was  his  guest  in 
New  York  for  nearly  a  fortnight  at  the  close  of  the  year  1875,  in- 
cluding Christmas  week.  The  courteous  provision  for  my  comfort, 
and  the  way  Mr.  Dodge  and  his  excellent,  now  bereaved,  lady  exer- 
cised their  hospitality  so  as  at  once  to  gratify  their  guest  and  press 
forward  the  temperance  cause,  was  most  charming  and  instructive. 


TRIBUTES. 


359 


On  the  2ist  of  December  Mr.  Dodge  presided  over  a  public  wel- 
come meeting  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  at  which 
the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  B.  Dunn,  '  Mother  Stewart,'  Judge  Black,  Mr. 
Powell,  Mr.  Stevens,  Dr.  Chickering,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Corrant  took 
part  in  the  proceedings,  along  with  their  president.  This  was  a 
galaxy  of  true  temperance  workers ;  but  it  was  exceeded  in  some 
respects  by  the  band  of  influential  ladies  and  gentlemen  gathered 
by  Mr.  Dodge  a  few  days  later  at  his  residence,  Madison  Avenue. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkins,  of  Williamstown,  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Cosh,  of 
Princeton,  and  others  of  the  leaders  of  public  opinion  in  New  York 
and  vicinity  were  brought  together  to  consider  the  interests  of  the 
temperance  reformation  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  During  the 
World's  Temperance  Convention  I  was  much  with  Mr.  Dodge  in 
Philadelphia,  and  there  I  saw  him  amid  the  princes  of  philanthropy, 
such  as  Mr.  Stuart,  standing  as  their  peer.  Subsequently,  in  the 
heat  of  the  summer  of  1876, 1  was  a  sojourner  at  Tarrytown,  in  Mr. 
Dodge's  mansion  on  the  Hudson.  The  merchant-princes  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic  have  reached  the  happy  altitude  of  good-doing 
in  all  circles  of  which  I  was  an  eye-witness.  His  knowledge  of 
England  was  great  and  appreciative,  and  a  warmer  sympathizer 
with  the  United  Kingdom  Alliance  is  not  left  among  us." 

"  The  president  of  one  of  the  large  banks,  and  a  life-long  friend 
of  Mr.  Dodge,  said :  '  William  E.  Dodge  and  I  were  young  men 
together,  boarding  in  the  same  house,  in  1824.  He  FromtheNew 
was  then  with  a  grocery  firm  in  Maiden  Lane,  near  York  Evening 
Broadway.  He  left  the  boarding-house  when  he  mar-  J 
ried  Miss  Phelps,  and  soon  after  went  into  business  with  Mr. 
Phelps,  a  dealer  in  metals  and  tin-plates.  Ten  days  ago  he  and  I 
were  at  a  trustee  meeting  together,  and  it  occurred  to  me  at  the 
time  that  no  man  whom  I  know  had  in  a  long  life  changed  so  little 
in  manner  and  character  as  he.  Fifty-five  years  ago  he  was  just 
what  he  always  was  through  life,  —  sagacious,  quick  to  decide, 
quick  in  execution,  untiring  at  work,  but  carrying  into  all  his  busi- 
ness operations,  large  and  small,  the  principle  of  his  private  life, 
which  was  conspicuously  religious.  I  remember  distinctly  one 
morning,  about  the  year  1828,  meeting  Mr.  Dodge  and  being 
much  interested  in  his  account  of  a  meeting  of  the  Young  Men's 
Bible  Society  held  the  night  before  at  the  City  Hotel,  where  the 


-     360  TRIBUTES. 

Boreel  building  now  is.  He  was  full  of  enthusiasm  in  telling  what 
had  been  done,  and  what  the  Society  hoped  to  do.  His  enthu- 
siasm for  good  works  never  flagged  from  that  day  to  the  time  of  his 
death. 

" '  Mr.  Dodge  was  famous  for  the  consistency  of  his  religious  life 
with  his  business  career.  He  never  held  stock  in  a  railroad  which 
ran  its  cars  on  Sunday.  He  never  drank  spirituous  liquors,  no 
matter  what  the  occasion.  When  he  was  travelling  in  Europe  he 
sometimes  found  it  impossible  to  get  good  water  to  drink ;  but  in 
that  case  he  drank  bad  water.  His  death  will  be  an  irreparable 
loss  to  the  many  charitable,  religious,  and  temperance  associations 
to  which  he  contributed  money,  and  advice  quite  as  valuable.  The 
amount  of  his  gifts  for  these  purposes  was  very  large.  I  know  that 
for  years  he  gave  away  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year.  Mr. 
Dodge  was  the  representative  of  the  best  type  of  the  old  New 
York  business  man.  He  had  enterprise,  judgment,  and  perfect  in- 
tegrity, and  gave  a  large  share  of  his  attention  to  helping  others.'  " 

"  It  is  really  remarkable  that  three  distinguished  citizens,  all  to  a 

greater  or  less  degree  interested  in  the  city  of  Hartford,  should  be 

removed  from  their  life-labors  within  a  few  days.    Wil- 

Frora    the  * 

Hartford  liam  E.  Dodge,  the  father-in-law  of  Governor  Jewell's 
daughter,  died  last  Friday  morning.  Governor  Jewell 
died  Saturday  morning.  Ex-Governor  Edwin  D.  Morgan,  who 
went  from  Hartford  to  New  York,  died  this  (Wednesday)  morning. 
Before  one  was  buried  another  died,  and  the  three  men  were  warm 
friends,  with  intimate  family  relations  and  associations." 

"What  is  consecration  in  an  individual?  This  can  best  be 
shown  by  an  example.  In  order  to  see  it  in  connection  with 
Rev.  R.  L.  giymg  money,  take  the  case  of  the  late  Hon.  William 
STANTON,  E.  Dodge.  His  was  in  an  eminent  degree  a  conse- 

D.D.,inthe  ,    ,.-          TT.         ... 

New  York  crated  life.  His  gifts  to  benevolent  objects  ran  into 
Evangelist.  tne  miuions.  BUJ  these  gifts  were  a  very  small  part 
of  that  which  showed  his  eminent  consecration  to  Christ.  There 
were  other  men  in  the  same  city  who  also  gave  their  mil- 
lions, who  were  not  the  consecrated  men  that  Mr.  Dodge  was. 
His  daily  walk  showed  it,  in  his  conversation,  his  kindly  spirit, 
his  generous  sympathy,  his  genial  smile,  his  warm  handshake. 


TRIBUTES.  361 

Although  immersed  in  business,  his  life  ran  in  a  spiritual  channel. 
Nothing  so  delighted  him  as  being  in  a  revival ;  he  '  gloried  in  the 
Cross,'  was  faithful  in  warning  sinners,  a  grand  counsellor  to  young 
converts,  the  stay  and  support  of  ministers.  Sit  with  him  in  a  rail- 
way-car, and  he  would  give  the  conversation  a  religious  turn ;  and 
it  was  often  the  same  when  you  met  him  in  the  counting-room. 
Nothing  was  more  entertaining  than  to  hear  him  rehearse  the  inci- 
dents of  former  times,  during  the  revivals  under  Mr.  Finney.  He 
seemed  to  be  in  his  true  element  when  I  met  him  on  the  platform 
at  Oberlin,  at  the  '  Finney  Memorial '  gathering,  a  few  months  after 
the  death  of  that  eminent  man  of  God.  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  man  of 
religious  courage,  and  his  whole  consecrated  life  was  based  on 
principle  and  illustrated  in  a  conscientious  righteousness.  He 
showed  this  where  many  Christians  fail.  He  stood  up  for  God's 
Sabbath,  even  at  pecuniary  loss.  At  his  social  feasts,  surrounded 
with  guests  of  most  distinguished  men,  he  would  not  allow  the 
wine-cup.  His  enjoyments  were  pure.  He  set  a  high  and  health- 
ful example  in  all  these  things.  Would  that  this  could  be  said  of 
all  his  Christian  neighbors,  who,  like  him,  gave  their  millions  to  be- 
nevolence !  But  perhaps  the  most  striking  of  all  his  religious 
habits,  and  where  the  mass  of  Christian  people  do  absolutely  noth- 
ing to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ,  wats  in  his  improving  every 
favorable  opportunity  to  lead  sinners  to  Christ.  His  private  devo- 
tions and  secret  spiritual  communion  with  God  prepared  him  for 
this,  and  for  the  success  which  followed.  It  was  this  personal 
devotion  to  the  souls  of  men  which  was  the  prime  element  in  his 
'  consecration,'  and  this  is  consecration  anywhere ;  and  where  it  is 
wanting,  religion  is  little  else  than  a  name,  though  millions  of  money 
may  be  given  in  benevolence.  *  Though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to 
feed  the  poor  .  .  .  and  have  not  love,  it  profiteth  me  nothing.' 

"That  which  was  the  prime  element  in  putting  the  stamp  of 
consecration  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Dodge,  is  within  the  reach  of 
every  disciple  of  Christ,  whether  poor  or  rich  in  worldly  goods." 

"  It  is  in  his  private  charities  that  Mr.  Dodge's  character  has 
shown  itself  pre-eminently.      Nine  tenths  of  them  never  will   be 
known ;  but  a  legion  of  people,  from  one  end  of  the     Mr.  A.  G. 
United  States  to  the  other,  will  to  the  day  of  their    STBADMAN- 
deaths  shower  down  blessings  on  the  memory  of  this  great  and 


362  TRIBUTES. 

good  man.  Although  belonging  to  a  wealthy  and  honorable  fam- 
ily, Mr.  Dodge  elected  as  a  young  man  to  enter  a  business  firm  in 
this  city  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  as  was  the  general  practice 
with  the  sons  of  wealthy  merchants  at  that  time,  —  a  practice, 
sad  to  say,  which  has  almost  died  out  with  the  present  generation. 
Gradually  he  worked  his  way  up  to  the  most  prominent  business 
position  in  the  city,  and  finally  retired  full  of  years  and  honor. 
But  not  to  rest.  The  work  of  building  up  a  fortune,  of  surround- 
ing himself  with  home  comforts,  was  merely  to  insure  the  better 
management  of  his  'Father's  business.'  From  his  earliest  man- 
hood to  the  day  of  his  death,  this  was  the  chief  end  and  occupa- 
tion of  his  life.  As  the  years  advanced,  his  family  wished  to  keep 
away  from  him  the  constant  applicants  for  charity ;  but  so  fearful 
was  he  that  some  worthy  case,  some  deserving  person,  should  be 
neglected,  that  he  insisted  on  seeing  them  all,  —  to  the  evident 
shortening  of  his  life.  Yet  no  one  was  quicker  than  he  to  detect 
and  put  to  shame  the  professional  mendicant." 

"  At  the  International  Convention  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  in  Exeter  Hall,  London,  two  years  ago,  the  Earl  of 
Rev.  THEO-  Shaftesbury  and  William  E.  Dodge  sat  side  by  side. 
DORB  L.  CUY-  Every  one  recognized  them  as  the  two  lay-leaders  of 
d»  N«tionl  evangelical  effort  in  the  two  great  nations  they  repre- 
Baptist.  sented.  The  one  was  born  to  a  famous  title  in  the 

British  peerage ;  the  other  began  life  as  an  errand-boy  in  a  New 
York  dry-goods  store.  Both  rose  to  the  head  of  the  Christian 
forces  in  their  respective  countries,  and  yet  never  outgrew  their 
godly  humility ;  both  were  noblemen  of  the  Almighty.  Shaftesbury 
still  lives ;  Dodge  has  gone  up  higher. 

"  There  are  some  valuable  lessons  for  young  men  to  be  gathered 
from  the  career  of  our  American  philanthropist,  who  has  just  been 
borne  to  his  grave  amid  great  lamentations  for  his  departure.  Let 
me  hurriedly  note  some  of  these  many  lessons. 

"  i.  The  first  one  is  that  the  richest  and  most  fruitful  lives  for 
Christ  begin  with  early  conversation.  It  took  sixty-six  years  of 
incessant  devotion  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  service  of  others,  in 
order  to  build  the  life  of  William  E.  Dodge.  He  gave  his  heart  to 
the  Lord  at  the  age  of  twelve ;  and  then  kept  growing,  not  by 
fitful  spasms,  as  in  '  revival '  times,  but  by  steady  enlargement  of 


TRIBUTES.  363 

spiritual  bulk  and  vigor.  He  was  like  one  of  those  cedars  which 
loom  up  on  Mount  Lebanon,  above  the  college  which  he  helped  to 
build  in  Beirut.  He  began  his  career  in  a  very  humble  position ; 
for  those  only  who  are  willing  to  start  far  down  are  able  to  reach 
far  up.  Nearly  all  our  foremost  characters,  both  in  the  church  and 
the  commonwealth,  have  been  cradled  on  the  rocks. 

"  2.  A  second  lesson  taught  by  my  beloved  friend  was  the  su- 
preme value  and  power  of  a  Christian  conscience.  He  has  told  me 
that  when  he  came  to  New  York  in  boyhood  he  was  beset  with  the 
usual  temptations  to  wine-drinking,  theatre,  and  the  other  snares 
with  which  so  many  youthful  feet  are  entrapped.  To  all  these  he 
could  say,  like  Nehemiah  :  '  So  did  not  I.'  One  of  the  sweetest, 
most  courteous  and  genial  of  men,  he  had  the  backbone  of  a 
Puritan. 

"  3.  The  noble  lesson  of  consecration  of  wealth  to  the  service  of 
the  God  who  loaned  it  to  him,  is  one  of  the  most  obvious  in  Mr. 
Dodge's  long  career.  He  gave  for  the  love  of  it.  During  one 
year  his  donations  averaged  a  thousand  dollars  a  day ;  and  the 
sum-total  of  them  during  fifty  years  amounted  to  several  millions. 
He  put  a  brick  into  hundreds  of  structures  for  the  weal  of  his 
fellow-men ;  to  foreign  missions,  to  the  education  of  Southern 
freedmen,  and  to  the  cause  of  temperance  he  gave  the  most  bounti- 
fully. When  a  commercial  calamity  swept  from  him  over  a  million 
of  dollars,  he  said  to  me  :  '  I  feel  this  loss  mainly  because  it  leaves 
just  so  much  the  less  for  me  to  give  to  our  Master.' 

"  4.  But  his  consecration  of  the  purse  —  noble  as  it  was  —  did 
not  equal  the  consecration  which  he  made  of  himself  to  the  service 
of  Jesus  and  to  personal  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  souls.  Trained 
by  Harlan  Page,  he  had  a  rare  skill  in  dealing  with  individuals, 
whether  in  an  inquiry-meeting  or  in  a  private  dwelling.  He  was 
not  afraid  to  talk  plainly  and  lovingly  to  his  wealthiest  friends 
about  their  souls ;  he  often  went  down  on  his  knees  with  them  in 
fervent  prayer ;  and  sometimes,  when  he  returned  from  attending 
the  funerals  of  eminent  citizens,  he  would  say  with  a  sort  of  godly 
jealousy  :  '  Oh,  why  was  not  there  more  said  to  the  unconverted  in 
that  assembly  about  their  own  need  of  Christ?'  Mr.  Moody 
found  in  him  a  most  efficient  helper ;  for  Mr.  Dodge  carried  a  key 
to  houses  and  hearts  that  hardly  any  one  else  possessed.  Nor  did 
he  confine  his  personal  efforts  to  people  of  his  own  social  rank. 


364  TRIBUTES. 

Down  in  Jerry  McAuley's  mission,  and  at  the  Home  for  Inebriates, 
and  in  many  another  spot  where  the  poor,  wrecked  victims  of  sin 
appealed  to  his  big,  Christ-loving  heart,  he  strove  and  prayed  to 
win  a  soul  from  death. 

"  5.  The  last  lesson  to  be  gathered  from  that  career  which  has 
lately  ended  in  glory,  is  this  :  He  who  would  work  successfully  for 
Christ  must  live  constantly  with  Christ.  Our  brother  was  emi- 
nently a  man  of  prayer.  He  fed  and  watered  his  soul  every  morn- 
ing with  the  manna  of  the  word,  and  at  the  fountain  of  communion 
with  Jesus.  No  pressure  of  business  ever  robbed  that  Daniel  of 
his  fixed  hours  of  private  devotion.  That  stately  tree  of  philan- 
thropy and  godliness  rose  so  high,  and  bloomed  out  into  such 
beauties  of  holiness,  because  it  was  'rooted  by  the  rivers,'  and 
drew  its  inner  life  from  the  inexhaustible  sources." 

"  He  showed  that  religion  and  business  are  not  incompatible. 

'  Business  '  is  a  rough,  hard  trunk,  growing  out  of  an  earthly  soil  ; 

but  it  may  be  vital  with  Christian  faith  and  principle, 

ZABRISKIE,       an(i  it  may  bear  heavenly  fruitage,  full  of  sweetness 


D.D.,  in  the    ancj  ijghj.  an(j  iove  for  menj  anfi  bring  glory  to  God. 

"  He  showed  how  much  business  there  is  for  men 
who  have  retired  from  business.  No  one  in  this  world,  and  espe- 
cially in  this  age,  need  be  '  out  of  business.'  When  Mr.  Dodge 
became  a  '  silent  partner  '  in  secular  and  money-making  establish- 
ments, it  was  only  to  become  a  more  active  partner  in  a  score  of 
philanthropic  and  evangelistic  organizations.  Vast  as  were  the 
sums  he  gave,  they  were  as  nothing  compared  to  the  cheer  and 
influence  of  his  personal  presence  and  the  value  of  the  counsel 
and  co-operation  which  he  so  freely  and  widely  rendered.  He 
was  literally  a  tower  of  strength  along  the  hard-fought  and  often 
wavering  border-line  of  light  and  darkness,  Christ  and  Belial. 

"  He  showed  how  the  sternest  principle  may  be  united  with  the 
most  genial  and  sunny  temper.  Not  only  when  he  gave  did  he 
make  the  donors  feel  that  the  privilege  was  on  his  side,  but  in  his 
firm  and  uniform  refusal  to  comply  with  social  customs  or  to  be 
allied  with  business  methods  which  were  against  his  conscience, 
he  was  so  bright,  and  devoid  of  pharisaism,  that  he  had  the  kindly 
feeling  as  well  as  the  confidence  of  all. 

"  What  can  the  world  offer  in  the  way  of  pleasure,  or  art  depict 


TRIBUTES.  365 

of  the  beautiful,  compared  to  the  blessedness  and  beauty  of  such  a 
life  /  One  had  only  to  look  at  Mr.  Dodge  to  see  what  a  happy 
man  he  was.  And  his  happiness  arose  from  the  constancy  with 
which  he  sought  the  peace  and  good  of  others.  It  was  an  im- 
perial privilege  to  have  such  large  capacity  and  resources  for  aid- 
ing, cheering,  inspiring,  and  saving  the  weak,  the  weary,  and  the 
lost.  But  the  great  contest  and  perfect  peace  lay  not  in  the  mea- 
sure of  his  means  or  of  their  results,  they  were  in  the  benevolent 
spirit  and  motive,  which  kept  his  heart  and  brain  and  hands 
healthfully  astir." 

"  Hundreds  of  homes  are  touched  by  the  sorrow  of  this  death ; 
hundreds  of  men  who  owe  their  intellectual  life  and  their  positions 
of  usefulness  to  him  must  feel  that  their  great  bene-  Rev.  A  c.  SHAW, 
factor  and  friend  has  been  taken  from  them.  To  D-D-»  Com- 

r  . .  .     .  .  -  T         .          ,  _  memorative  dis- 

how  many  of  the  missionaries  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  course,  at  Weiis- 
have  the  tidings  of  his  departure  carried  the  grief  of  boro>  Pa> 
personal  bereavement;  how  many  mission-fields,  gleaming  amid 
the  midnight  of  heathendom,  are  darkened  by  the  shadow  of  this 
affliction  !  And  this  is  the  death  of  a  man  not  eminent  by  virtue 
of  the  office  he  held,  not  connected  with  the  world  of  letters  in 
such  a  way  as  to  keep  his  name  before  the  millions  who  read, 
a  death  with  which  there  was  no  tragic  circumstance  to  shock  the 
world,  —  it  was  the  death  of  a  plain  citizen,  in  his  own  home,  in 
the  ripeness  of  his  years. 

"  When  the  heart  of  William  E.  Dodge  stopped  beating,  it  was 
as  if  a  noble  fountain,  that  with  countless  diverging  streams  had 
made  glad  the  whole  Christian  world,  had  suddenly  ceased  to 
flow. 

" '  Defer  not  charities  till  death ;  for  certainly,  if  a  man  weigh 
it  rightly,  he  that  doth  so  is  rather  liberal  of  another  man's  than  his 
own.'  Mr.  Dodge  obeyed  this  rule ;  he  did  not  defer  his  charities 
until  he  could  neither  use  nor  enjoy  his  money.  The  enormous 
sums  given  by  him  might  have  been  devoted  to  purposes  of  pride 
and  splendor,  or  to  making  himself  still  richer.  But  he  took  de- 
light in  doing  good  with  his  riches,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  where  his  money  went. 

"  He  has  done  more  than  to  give.  Besides  fortunes  of  money, 
he  has  lavished  upon  these  causes  the  riches  of  his  sympathy  and 


366  TRIBUTES. 

personal  affection ;  he  has,  we  may  believe,  called  down  upon  them 
the  priceless  blessings  of  his  daily  intercessions.  His  heart  was  in 
these  celestial  endeavors ;  they  were  as  much  a  part  of  his  life  as 
of  any  who  received  his  benefactions.  No  missionary  could  bring 
to  him  a  more  honest  and  genuine  interest  in  the  great  cause  than 
that  which  throbbed  in  his  own  bosom.  No  college  president  more 
sincerely  desired  the  best  good  of  his  students  than  did  he.  And 
we  may  be  sure  that  of  the  young  men  whom  he  either  supported 
or  largely  assisted  in  their  course  of  education,  —  and  were  they 
here  in  a  body,  I  doubt  whether  the  church  could  begin  to  hold 
them,  —  we  may  be  sure  that  there  were  few  of  these  men  who 
did  not  prize  his  paternal  regard  more  highly  than  the  generous 
sums  that  with  such  delicate  care  for  their  own  self-respect  he 
bestowed  upon  them.  They  were  to  blame  if  they  were  not 
ennobled  by  contact  with  his  great  heart. 

"  There  is  no  man  to  whom  the  phrase  *  good  luck '  is  more 
improperly  applied  than  to  William  E.  Dodge.  His  story  from 
beginning  to  end  is  one  of  cause  and  effect;  and  the  cause  is 
always  equal  to  the  effect.  He  was  a  model  business  man.  The 
man  doing  business  on  the  most  extensive  scale,  handling  millions 
every  year,  could  study  him  with  profit;  and  the  man  whose 
business  is  limited  to  a  few  thousands  —  even  the  boy  beginner 
to  whom  a  thousand  is  an  incredible  sum  —  could  not  do  better 
than  to  study  his  example.  He  had  all  the  qualifications  which 
insure  contentment  and  progress  amid  restricted  means  and  limited 
opportunities;  knew  how  to  live. within  a  small  income.  It  was 
with  the  savings  from  such  an  income  that  he  laid  the  corner-stone 
of  his  vast  prosperity.  He  knew  how  to  accommodate  himself  to  the 
disagreeable  necessities  of  his  lot ;  and  if  he  could  not  do  what  he 
would,  he  cheerfully  and  heartily  did  what  he  could.  It  was  the 
faithful  errand-boy  who  became  the  great  merchant.  Not  less 
could  he  adapt  himself  to  the  largest  undertakings  and  easily  bear 
up  the  heaviest  responsibilities.  He  had  all  the  qualities  which 
win  the  regard  and  retain  the  confidence  of  men.  In  him  the 
theoretical  and  practical  elements  were  successfully  blended ;  he 
could  comprehend  a  vast  enterprise,  and  at  the  same  time  perfect 
each  one  of  its  details,  and  then  bring  to  the  work  the  ceaseless 
vigor,  the  persistent  force,  the  unresting  push  that  achieved  results. 
Withal  he  had  an  originating  mind  ;  he  did  not  wait  upon  oppor- 


TRIBUTES.  367 

tunity ;  he  '  made  his  own  opportunity.'  He  could  see  oppor- 
tunities where  others  did  not  see  them,  and  he  was  bold  to 
undertake  where  others  saw,  but  dared  not  venture.  In  nothing, 
it  seems  to  me,  was  he  more  admirable  as  a  man  of  business  than 
in  the  harmonious  adjustment  and  co-operation  of  his  good  quali- 
ties. His  enterprise  did  not  outrun  his  judgment,  nor  his  judgment 
put  shackles  upon  his  enterprise.  He  had  not  too  much  zeal  for 
his  knowledge,  nor  knowledge  at  the  expense  of  zeal.  He  was 
not  a  man  who  would  do  excellently  in  little  New  York,  numbering 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand,  but  was  out  of  place  in  the 
great  metropolis  ;  nor  was  he  one  who  could  prosper  in  the  great 
city,  and  not  succeed  in  a  small  town.  He  was  admirable  in 
both. 

"  He  was  a  Christian  business-man.  By  this  I  mean  that  he 
introduced  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  religion  into  his  business  life. 
He  did  business  on  the  kind,  the  fair,  the  honorable,  and  the 
brotherly  principles  of  that  religion.  There  was  nothing  mean 
or  cruel  in  his  prosperity.  It  was  not,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  built 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  prosperity  of  others.  It  was  not  the  triumph 
of  the  strong  over  the  weak,  of  the  fortunate  over  the  unfortunate. 
He  honored  the  old  maxim,  —  Live,  and  let  live ;  he  prospered 
through  causing  others  to  prosper ;  his  good  fortune  was  the  certifi- 
cate of  the  good  fortune  of  those  who  had  wrought  for  him.  And 
as  that  prosperity  rolled  in  upon  him  it  served  only  to  broaden  and 
deepen  his  fraternal  sympathy  with  all  who  were  struggling  with  an 
adverse  lot.  Upon  all  his  wealth  he  could  look  as  that  which  be- 
longed to  him  through  the  blessing  of  his  Father  in  heaven.  That 
wealth  had  in  it  no  reproaches,  no  sorrowful  accusations,  but  bene- 
dictions and  only  benedictions.  This  is  high  praise ;  it  is  saying 
much  in  these  days  to  affirm  all  this  about  a  very  rich  man.  It 
may  be,  and  must  be  said  of  him ;  and  a  still  higher  praise  yet 
remains. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  Christian.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  he 
was  a  member  of  a  church,  or  that  he  called  himself  a  Christian  ; 
I  do  not  refer  to  the  conspicuous  positions  he  held  in  religious  and 
philanthropic  associations,  nor  to  the  pride  and  joy  felt  in  him  by 
the  best  and  foremost  men.  I  mean  that  his  Christian  character 
was  his  truest,  most  individual,  and  personal  character ;  that  amid 
all  the  lights  and  shadows  of  life  in  the  great  metropolis,  —  amid 


368  TRIBUTES. 

all  the  turmoil  and  confusion  of  these  years  during  which  one 
noble  reputation  after  another  has  become  tarnished,  —  he  has 
kept  the  light  of  his  Christian  profession  shining  with  undimmed 
and  unmistakable  lustre  before  the  eyes  of  men.  I  mean  that  the 
word  '  Christian  '  describes  him  more  accurately  than  the  word  '  busi- 
ness-man ; '  that  his  religious  nature  was  the  inspiring,  the  authori- 
tative, the  controlling  nature  ;  that  the  great  things  in  his  desire 
and  purpose  were  not  his  millions  of  gold,  not  his  honors  among 
men,  but  his  obligations  and  privileges,  his  joys  and  hopes  as  a 
child  of  God.  Judge  for  yourselves.  '  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them.'  Mr.  Dodge  transacted  business  in  such  a  way  as  always 
to  have  time  for  the  demands  of  personal  piety.  He  began  the 
day  by  communion  with  God  in  his  word  and  through  prayer; 
and  enough  is  known  of  his  domestic  life  to  make  us  very  sure 
that  if  one  thing  more  than  another  was  the  glory  of  his  home, 
it  was  the  altar  of  family  worship  in  it. 

"  William  E.  Dodge  !  Those  of  us  who  are  in  middle  life  can 
hardly  remember  the  time  when  that  name  was  not  a  tower  of 
strength  to  all  good  citizens  and  to  all  good  men.  What  multitudes 
of  persons,  for  how  many  years,  when  any  great  work  of  philan- 
thropy or  faith  was  to  be  inaugurated,  have  found  that  name  upon 
their  lips  !  And  yet  he  was  so  gentle,  so  familiar,  so  unpretend- 
ing, and  so  near ;  was  so  free  from  the  egotist's  vice  of  '  thrusting 
his  pampered  self '  before  us ;  he  made  himself  so  perfectly  one 
of  us,  —  that  we  scarcely  recognized  how  much  of  a  man  and  how 
devoted  a  Christian  he  was. 

"  As  we  turn  from  this  subject  there  are  two  things  which 
it  would  be  treason  to  the  record  he  has  left  us  to  forget.  They 
are  :  First,  that  the  highest  success  in  business  is  quite  compatible 
with  the  highest  development  of  the  Christian  life ;  that  a  man 
may  be  immersed  in  affairs,  and  still  maintain  the  warmest,  freshest, 
and  most  vigorous  growth  of  his  interest  in  the  things  that  pertain 
to  the  kingdom  of  God.  A  great  writer  has  shown  us  how  a 
scholar,  when  wearied  with  one  intellectual  pursuit,  may  find  rest 
and  recreation  in  another  study.  I  believe  that  this  merchant 
prince,  when  jaded  and  worn  with  the  cares  of  money-making, 
found  rest  and  refreshment  in  the  activities  of  religion.  There 
was  a  harmonious  and  helpful  relation  between  his  office  and  his 
closet,  between  the  excitements  of  the  place  where  men  were  buy- 


TRIBUTES.  369 

ing  and  selling,  and  the  excitements  of  the  place  where  men  were 
worshipping  God,  or  were  maturing  the  schemes  of  benevolence. 
In  these  things  he  found  a  change  of  air ;  a  different  class  of  ideas 
rushed  in  to  renew  his  mind,  to  cheer  and  strengthen  his  heart. 
His  religious  life  made  him  a  sounder  and  better  man  of  business, 
—  certainly  a  pleasanter  man  to  do  business  with  ;  his  business  life 
made  him  a  more  genuine  and  practical  man  of  God.  By  one  he 
was  protected  from  the  corruption  of  trade  and  the  hardening, 
degrading  effects  of  mere  trade ;  by  the  other  he  was  protected 
from  wasting  his  spirit  in  mere  dreams  and  sentiments  and  saintly 
emotions.  In  the  activities  of  the  world  he  had  need  of  faith,  and 
in  the  revelations  of  faith,  as  from  time  to  time  he  came  down  from 
the  mountain  of  vision,  he  had  need  of  the  activities  of  the  world 
as  vessels  to  receive  the  wonders  he  had  seen  and  to  hold  the 
spirit  with  which  he  had  been  inspired.  It  was  because  in  him  were 
combined  the  lives  of  the  good  man  of  business  and  of  the  devout 
and  earnest  man  of  faith  that  he  rose  to  such  eminence  in  both, 
and  lived  so  long  and  so  well,  and  as  his  years  multiplied  was  forever 
growing  young,  until  he  reached  the  land  of  immortal  youth." 

"  Considering  the  multiplicity  and  the  variety  of  the  benevolent 
enterprises  in  which  the  late  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  engaged  with 
untiring  zeal  for  so  many  years,  —  and  the  London     Rev.  F.  F. 
papers  say  that  he  often  attended  four  or  five  meetings     ^L£ "™™°> 
a  day,  —  one  is  reminded  of  a  prominent  figure  which    the  Foreign 

i  •  i-  i     /-  .1  •         Missionary. 

not  long  since  disappeared  from  among  us  in  this 
city  of  New  York.  We  refer  to  the  late  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge, 
whose  schedule  of  engagements,  as  he  placed  it  each  morning 
in  the  hands  of  his  confidential  clerk,  would  have  presented  a 
remarkable,  and  to  most  business  men  a  very  unaccountable, 
variety.  Meetings  of  a  Bible  society,  or  a  missionary  board,  or 
a  temperance  union,  were  mixed  up  with  engagements  in  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  or  meetings  of  railroad  managers  or 
bank  directors.  To  a  mind  of  less  capacity  for  despatch,  it 
would  have  seemed  confusing ;  and  yet,  as  he  once  informed  us, 
he  found  relief  in  the  variety  which  these  engagements,  systemati- 
cally met,  afforded  him.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  him  to  write 
his  signature  to  a  pile  of  bank-cheques  while  patiently  hearing  the 
story  of  some  minister  who  had  come  to  ask  assistance  in  building 

24 


370  TRIBUTES. 

a  church,  or  an  agent  who  was  trying  to  endow  a  college,  or  some 
poor  representative  of  the  colored  race  who  had  come  to  plead  for 
his  impoverished  flock.  Blessed  are  the  names  and  influence  of 
such  men,  who,  with  the  heaviest  engagements,  have  never  allowed 
the  fountains  of  sympathy  to  dry  up,  nor  abated  one  jot  or  tittle  of 
that  deep  and  abiding  interest  which  is  due  to  the  great  concerns 
of  humanity  and  the  claims  of  Christ's  .kingdom.  We  are  glad 
that  a  monument  has  been  reared  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Dodge. 
It  will  be  a  possible  incitement  to  the  young  merchants  of  this 
city  and  the  country  to  follow  his  high  example.  A  noble  column 
will  doubtless  be  reared  to  the  memory  of  Lord  Shaftesbury ;  but, 
really,  Britain  and  America  and  the  world  are  full  of  monuments  to 
the  memory  of  these  men.  When  shall  the  multitudes  of  our  men 
of  wealth  and  influence  and  power,  instead  of  trying  to  emulate 
some  selfish  financier  in  the  number  of  his  millions,  or  of  the  rail- 
roads which  he  controls,  thereby  only  reaping  the  hatred  of  the 
masses,  find  grace  to  use  their  opportunities  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  good  of  mankind,  and  thus  make  glad  the  waste  places  at 
home  and  abroad  with  the  messages  of  salvation  ?  " 

"  Christian  men  are  thankful  that  a  statue  of  William  E.  Dodge 
has  been  set  up  in  a  public  place  where  many  will  see  it  in  this 
From  the  c^'  ^r-  Dodge  was  a  Christian,  a  hearty  and  un- 
christian in-  questioning  believer  in  the  evangelical  doctrine.  He 

telligencer.  ,          ,  ,  .     .  /-.--,, 

was  what  he  was  because  of  the  grace  of  God,  re- 
ceived through  his  evangelical  belief.  He  was  not  perfect,  was 
a  man  of  like  passions  with  ourselves,  was  fallible,  and  had  his 
infirmities.  If  he  had  been  free  from  imperfections,  his  life 
would  be  of  little  value  to  us.  But  he  was  a  good  man,  emi- 
nent in  virtue ;  a  sagacious  man,  a  benefactor  in  a  large  sense,  a 
man  of  world-wide  sympathies.  Every  endeavor  in  this  city  to 
relieve  the  poor,  the  suffering,  the  discouraged,  received  gifts  and 
energetic  efforts  and  sympathy  from  him.  And  such  endeavors 
the  world  over  he  was  not  only  ready,  but  eager  to  help.  He  man- 
aged a  great  business,  until  it  was  first  of  its  class  in  this  country. 
It  was  lucrative,  and  he  expended  a  large  proportion  of  his  share 
of  the  profits  in  improving  the  condition  of  other  men,  and  did 
this  gladly.  The  bronze  memorial  of  the  man  and  his  life  will 
speak  words  of  cheer  to  young  men  who  come  to  this  city  without 


TRIBUTES. 


371 


money,  but  determined  to  be  diligent  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit, 
serving  the  Lord,  resolved  to  succeed  in  that  way,  and  in  no 
other.  It  will  speak  strengthening  words  to  mature  men  burdened 
with  work  and  care  and  responsibility,  tried  at  all  points,  and  will 
inspire  them  with  new  courage  and  resolution  to  be  true  to  God, 
true  to  his  word,  true  to  humanity,  true  to  themselves.  It  will 
speak  to  old  men  of  Divine  promises  fulfilled,  of  last  days  that  were 
best  days,  of  the  foretaste  and  earnest  here  of  the  heavenly  inheri- 
tance. Thank  God  that  there  is  a  statue  in  this  city  of  a  Chris- 
tian merchant ! " 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

LETTERS   OF   SYMPATHY. 

AS  soon  as  the  death  of  Mr.  Dodge  became  known, 
letters  of  sympathy,  addressed  chiefly  to  his  wife, 
but  many  also  to  his  children,  began  to  be  received  from 
friends  both  near  and  far. 

These  expressions  of  affectionate  appreciation  of  the 
dead,  and  of  tender  regard  for  the  members  of  his  be- 
reaved family,  will  ever  be  most  gratefully  cherished ;  but 
they  are  too  numerous,  and  in  most  cases  contain  too 
much  of  a  personal  nature,  to  permit  of  publication  even 
in  a  memorial  prepared  for  limited  circulation.  It  would 
be  impossible,  however,  to  present  a  just  and  complete 
view  of  Mr.  Dodge's  character  without,  to  some  extent  at 
least,  transcribing  the  loving  estimate  of  those  who  knew 
him  longest  and  best.  And  yet  only  portions  of  the  let- 
ters selected  can  be  given ;  but  the  light  upon  the  picture 
will  come  from  varied  sources,  each  revealing  some  distinct 
feature  or  helping  to  make  the  whole  more  luminous. 

"Among  all  those  who  have  known  him,  I  should  indeed  be 
Mr.  A.  A.         sorry  to  think  that,  outside  the  family  circle,  there  are 
LOW.  any  who  hold  his  memory  in  higher  honor  than  I  do. 

Would  that  there  were  others  like  him  !  But  I  cannot  call  to  mind 
one  who,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  all  the  various  relations  of  life, 
may  claim  to  be  his  peer.  What  a  delight  it  was  to  know  him,  and 
rejoice  in  his  gladdening  smile,  and  to  feel  the  cordial  grasp  of  his 
hand  ! " 


LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY.  373 

"  The  resolutions  [of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna,  &  Western  Railroad]  express  tenderly,  Mr.  SAMUEL 
and  yet  fall  short  of  what  we  feel.  We  shall  miss  him  SLOAN. 
at  our  meetings,  —  the  wise  counsellor,  the  prompt  and  energetic 
director.  His  manly  Christian  character  has  left  its  impress  upon 
our  whole  organization,  and  will,  I  trust,  not  be  forgotten." 

"  I  have  no  words  to  express  the  sadness  I  feel  at  the  death 
of  Mr.    Dodge.      A   most   noble   Christian   life    has     MrWlLLIAM 
closed,  —  a  life  that  has  had  a  most  beneficial  influ-     A.  BOOTH. 
ence  upon  the  world." 

"For  many  years  I  was  in  constant  communication  with  Mr. 
Dodge,  and  was  forcibly  struck  with   his  reliability.     Mr 
The  greater  the  emergency,  the  greater  the  certainty    TAYLOR 
that  he  would  be  on  hand  to  assist.     That  was  the 
salient  point  of  his  character  which  presented  itself  the  oftenest 
to  me." 

"  I  have  lost  my  oldest  friend.      For  more  than  fifty  years 
we  have  been  associated  in  intimate  relations  in  so-     Mr.  F.  s. 
cial  and  public  affairs,  and  without  a  break  in  the     WINSTON. 
friendship   which  has   existed   during  that  whole   period." 

"  I  have  had  such  frequent  occasion  to  see  Mr.  Dodge  recently, 
and  under  circumstances  which  so  well  illustrate  the  Mr.  JOHN  E. 
nobility  of  his  character,  that  I  am  peculiarly  impressed  PARSONS. 
by  his  death.  May  I  be  permitted  to  say  how  warmly  I,  in  com- 
mon with  all  others,  venerated  one  whose  ideal  was  so  high,  and 
whose  whole  life  so  truly  reflected  his  ideal." 

"  It  is  very  hard  to  think  of  so  sudden  an  end  to  a  life  so  active 
and  beneficent,  associated  always  with  an  untiring  and 
unselfish  energy,  which  seemed  in  some  way  to  pos-     HAM  ALLKN 
sess  the  secret  of  perpetual  youth.     During  the  many 
years  that  I  have  known  him,  extending  back  to  my  boyhood,  he 
has  always  seemed  to  me  the  same  in  his  constant  activity  and 
vigor,  and  in  his  readiness  for  every  good  word  and  work ;  and 
now  that  he  has  been  called  so  suddenly  from  his  finished  work 
here,  there  is  nothing  of  intervening  debility  or  decay  to  mar  the 


374  LETTERS   OF   SYMPATHY. 

image  which  will  remain  in  my  recollection,  or  to  weaken  the 
force  and  beauty  of  his  example." 

"  I  feel  thankful  that  I  have  known  him,  for  his  acquaintance 
made  me  better.  Earth  had  nothing  more  to  give  him.  "All 
Mr.  CHARLES  human  intelligence,  with  the  experience  of  centuries, 
E.  WHITE-  could  not  plan  a  more  full,  complete,  and  happy  life 
on  earth  ;  and  we  know  he  has  gone  to  a  fuller,  more 
complete  and  happy  one  beyond.  Therefore  I  trust  the  tender- 
ness of  the  past  will  not  fade  from  you,  —  that  every  tone  and 
look,  every  word  of  praise  and  prayer,  may  remain  fresh  to  your 
ear  and  memory,  and  yet  the  next  world  seem  nearer  and  brighter 
and  surer  for  his  having  gone  on  before." 

"  Engagements    made   early   last  week   compelled  me   to   re- 
main at  home  when  I  would  most  gladly  have  ioined 

Rev.  RICH-  ,  L     .      . 

ARDS.  the  great,  loving,  sorrowing,  yet  rejoicing,  concourse 

STORRS,  D.D.,     t  ^e  church  of  the  Covenant,  —  sorrowing  that  they 

Church  of  the  » 

Pilgrims,          shall  see  his  face  no  more  on  earth;  rejoicing  that, 
stepping  suddenly  over  the  crystal  threshold,  he  has 
found  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  saints,  in  the  presence  of  the 
King  !  " 

"  It  seems  but  yesterday  that  I  saw  him,  so  kind,  so  strong, 
Rev.  HENRY     so  wise  and  gentle,  so  full  of  the  grace  of  the  Master  ! 


pastor  of  '  voice  silent  so  soon  ?  But  after  all  there  must  be  a 
chufch^New  iF6^  comfort  *n  tne  thought  that  he  was  spared  long 
York.  sickness  and  suffering.  All  prepared  as  he  was,  it  was 

just  closing  the  eyes,  and  opening  them  in  heaven.  He  has  seen 
the  Lord  whom  he  served  so  faithfully.  He  is  receiving  his  great 
reward." 

"  The  sad,  unlooked-for  tidings  came  as  a  sore  personal  afflic- 
Rev  WIL-  ti°n'  ^0  recently  active  as  ever  in  his  Master's  work, 
LIAM  ORMIS-  it  scarce  seems  possible  that  he  can  have  been  called 
Pastor  Coiie-  home.  He  will  be  missed  long  and  much  in  every 
giate  Church,  enterprise,  and  especially  in  every  work  of  faith  and 
labor  of  love.  Who  could  have  been  taken  for  whom  so  many 
will  mourn  all  over  our  land,  and  in  every  branch  of  the  Church 


LETTERS   OF   SYMPATHY. 


375 


of  Christ !   But  though  dead,  he  still  speaketh ;  he  rests,  but  his 
works  follow  him." 

"Men,  regardless  of  age,  sect,  or  condition,  have  just  been 
weeping  scalding  tears  over  the  white  face  of  a  man,  an  apostle 
of  philanthropy,  who  loved  everywhere,  and  stretched 

rj  Rev.  C.  H. 

his  regal  sympathies  around  the  globe ;  and  while  his     PARKHURST, 
precious  dust  lies  mouldering,  his  name  is  an   axis 
around  which  all  conditions  of  men  easily  turn,  and  his  dear  mem- 
ory a  solvent  in  which  antagonisms  readily  melt  into  fellowship." 

"  What  a  happy  ending,  —  swift,  painless,  and  unshadowed  by 
any  clouding  of  the  reason  or  long  decay  of  the  powers.  '  He  was 
passing  from  one  room  to  another '  I  read  in  the  ac- 

0  Rt.  Rev. 

count  of  his  death.     Even  so,  —  out  of  the  lower  into     HENRY  c. 
the  upper  room.    I  congratulate  you  in  the  inheritance     Assistant?'0'' 
of  such  a  memory  of  his  long  and  blameless  and  use-     Bishop  of 
ful  life.     New  York  is  richer  because  such  men  as  he 
have  lived  in  it,  and  the  world  is  poorer  when  they  go  out  of  it." 

"I,   who    remember   his   marriage,   cannot 

Rt.   Rev.   A.   CLKVK- 

depnve  myself  of  the  privilege  of  assuring  you     LAND  COXE,  D.D., 
of  my  affectionate   sympathy.     Many  impres-     Netr°YorkWeStern 
sions   of  his   early  life  present  themselves   to 
my   mind   and   inspire  me  with  tender  emotions." 

"I  cannot  refrain  from  adding  my  word  of  sympathy  to  those 
of  hundreds  of  others.     The  world  has  suffered 
a  great  loss  in  losing  so  great  and  good  a  man.     J™RS(idY2e  coUege.P°R" 
Thrice  blessed  were  his  life  and  death." 

"  I  cannot  yet  realize  that  I  am  no  more  to  see  in  the  flesh  the 
genial  countenance  of  that  noblest  of  our  citizens.    Through  all 
his  life,  in  every  position  and  relation  he  sustained,  there 
was  the  flow  and  the  glow  of  the  Saviour's  image  and     D^'R  pM£" 
spirit.     While  he  bore  and  honored  a  denominational     St.  Mark's 
name,  he  was  in  heart  and  mind  a  fellow-citizen  with  all     York.' 
the  saints  and  of  the  whole  household  of  God.     Such 
a  life  and  such  an  example  are  of  untold  value  to  the  Church  of 
Christ  on  earth,  and  no  better  service  can  be  rendered  to  the  young 
men  of  this  land  than  to  put  in  their  possession  the  record  of  such 


376  LETTERS   OF   SYMPATHY. 

a  career  of  influence  and  usefulness.     The  good  which  this  one 
man  did  will  continue  on  through  all  the  ages  to  come." 

"  His  was,  in  truth,  a  noble  and  enviable  career.     To  have  the 

means  of  doing  so  much  good  in  one's  passage  through  this  world, 

is  the  privilege  of  but  few.    To  have  the  heart  to  make 

Prof.  USe  of  those  means  with  a  liberal  hand,  is  the  lot  of  an 

FISHER,  D!D.,   insignificant  portion   of  those  whom  Providence  has 


Yale  Theo-  faus  en(jowed.  Mr.  Dodge  always  seemed  to  me  to 
Seminary.  combine  manliness  with  a  genuine  warmth  of  religious 
feeling.  He  did  everything  in  a  certain  large  way. 
His  example  will  be  even  more  fruitful  than  his  labors  and  benefac- 
tions. Such  a  close  of  such  a  life  can  only  be  contemplated  with 
gratitude." 

"There  are  thousands  whom  he  never  knew  who  are  sorrow- 
ing over  his  departure  from  life,  —  our  life.     He  had 

MORRIS  D  D.      ^ve(^    SO    l°ng    an(^    SO    we^>    m    tne    eve    °f    ^e    COm- 

LaneTheo-       mon  Church,  that  his  name  and  person  had  come 

logical  ,  ..  -  T_.  .  . 

Seminary.         to  be  a  part  of  our   common   heritage.     His   with- 
drawal leaves   a   great   vacancy,  —  a  vacancy  which 
in  some  sense  is  never  to  be  filled.     What  shall  we  all  do  with- 
out his  example,  his  counsels,  his  inspirations?" 

"I  sympathize  with  you  deeply  in  your  sorrow  and  in  your 

joy,  —  in  your  sorrow  in  parting  for  a  season  from 

FREDC.  one  with  whom   you   have   held   such  sweet  fellow- 

3ST>     '  '      ship  for  so  many  years  ;   in   your  joy  that  he   has 

lived  such  a  noble  Christian  life,    that   he  has  gained  the  vic- 

tory over  death,  and  that  he  has  obtained  the  crown  of  eternal 

life  in  the  presence  of  the  Saviour  whom  he  loved  and  whom 

he  delighted  to  serve  and  to  honor." 

"  I  can  scarcely  realize  that  one  whom  I  so  greatly  loved  and 

revered  has  been  taken  from  us.     I  remember  as  distinctly  as  if  it 

were   only  yesterday   the   time  —  now  not  far  from 

M°BAIRD,RY     f°rty  years  —  when  I   had  the  privilege  of  being  a 

New  York       scholar  in  the  school  of  which  he  was  superintendent. 

University* 

His  bright  and  uniformly  cheerful  glance,  and  the  sin- 
cere interest  he  seemed  to  take  in  every  boy  and  girl,  even  the 
youngest,  invested  the  very  room  with  a  sort  of  moral  sunshine 


LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY.  377 

that  impressed  itself  indelibly  upon  the  memory;  in  fact  it  is 
difficult  for  me  to  think  of  him  in  any  other  form  than  that  he  then 
wore,  —  a  man  in  his  youthful  prime,  buoyant  with  hope  and 
health,  active  and  vigorous  beyond  most  men.  Much  of  the  same 
look  he  appeared  to  me  to  wear  still  when  in  later  years  I  met 
him;  he  never  seemed  to  grow  old." 

"  Few  such  lives  have  appeared.     There  are  men  enough  who 
have  attained  success  in  business,  men  who  have  been  great  in 
intellect  and  in  some  one  development  of  power ;  but 
I  may  say,  without  fulsome  extravagance,  that  I  have  ELUNWOO'D, 
never  known  one  who  combined  in  so  great  a  degree  D;  „  '  s"ret?ry 

o  o  oi  rresbyterian 

intellectual  and  moral  worth,  and  both  crowned  with  Board  of  For- 
love  to  God  and  man.     So  firm  an  adherence  to  ster- 
ling principle ;  so  much  of  well-directed  energy ;  such  marvellous 
capacity  for  work  in  a  thousand  directions ;   so  broad  a  philan- 
thropy and  so  deep  an  earnestness  in  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  in 
all  lands ;  such  a  catholic  spirit  towards  Christians  of  every  name ; 
and  such  untiring  patience  in  listening  to  the  constant  calls  of 
charity  :  where  and  in  whom  have  we  seen  all  this  equalled  ? 

"  Men  of  known  wealth  and  liberality  have  generally  felt  obliged 
to  shield  themselves  from  appeals,  and  not  infrequently  have  be- 
come chilled,  or  even  hardened,  under  the  constant  pressure ;  but 
I  have  been  surprised  at  the  patience,  and  even  enthusiasm,  with 
which  Mr.  Dodge  took  up  each  new  charity.  He  never  seemed 
to  lose  the  freshness  of  his  interest.  I  first  knew  Mr.  Dodge  while 
I  was  a  pastor  in  Rochester,  and  in  connection  with  his  liberal  sup- 
port of  ten  young  men  in  Auburn  Seminary.  I  saw  still  more  of 
his  widespread  benevolence  during  the  year  I  was  associated  with 
him  when  the  '  Memorial  Fund  '  was  secured.  I  have  seen  him 
again  at  the  meetings  of  the  American  Board,  as  well  as  in  the 
councils  of  our  own  Board ;  and  now  I  find  myself  looking  over  the 
Church  and  unconsciously  asking,  'On  whom  shall  his  mantle  fall? ' 
How  well  the  symmetry  of  his  public  life  was  rounded  and  com- 
pleted by  his  social  and  domestic  life,  I  need  not  say.  But  it  is 
perhaps  rarest  of  all  that  a  great  man  has  for  a  long  lifetime  pre- 
sented to  the  world  so  beautiful  an  example  as  a  husband  and 
father.  It  is  by  no  means  the  least  of  his  good  deeds  that  he  has 
taught  this  wayward  generation  so  grand  a  lesson  in  domestic  life. 


378  LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY. 

His  influence  has  belted  the  globe  ;  but  it  was  brightest  of  all  at  the 
hearthstone." 

"  I  have  known  him  for  nearly  fifty  years,  and  I  have  never 
Rev.  j.  LEIGH  TON  WIL-  known  one  of  my  fellow-men  for  whom  I 
SON,  D.D.,  secretary  of  have  had  greater  regard  and  affection.  The 

the  Board  of  Foreign 

Missions  of  the  South-  savor    of    his  good   name   and    his    mnumer- 

ern  Presbyterian  Church.    abje     dee(js     of    kindnCSS     HlUSt    be    precious    tO 

you  as  long  as  you  live." 

"  The  character  of  Mr.  Dodge  might  well  be  held  up  before 
the   young    men   of   our   land   as    a    model.      God 

Rev.    W.    C.          .  ,  ,  .  TT 

CATTKLL,         gives   but   few   such   men   in    one    generation.      He 
D.D.,  presi-      nacj  great  wealth  and  a  high  social  position,  but  he 

dent    of 

Lafayette          was   always   the   same   humble,  sincere,  and   helpful 
Christian,  winning   the   love  as   well   as  the   respect 
of  all  who  knew  him." 

"  Mr.  Dodge  deeply  impressed  us  as  a  man  possessing  the  quali- 
ties of  excellence  which  the  grace  of  God  produces.  He  drew 
near  to  God  to  learn  his  will.  He  did  not  follow  with 
RENDALL,  majorities.  If  they  were  against  the  right,  he  could  be 
dem 'ofPrCS1  agamst  them.  In  exigencies  when  the  claims  of  hu- 
Lincoin  manity  required  boldness  in  her  advocates  he  did  not 

hesitate  to  incur  the  risks  of  faithfulness.  Another 
trait  was  that  he  made  a  difference  between  pleasing  men  and 
benefiting  them.  He  set  the  kingdom  of  heaven  first.  He  made 
it  his  aim  to  draw  men  towards  it  and  into  it.  With  him  success 
did  not  indicate  prosperity  where  the  blessings  of  religion  were 
omitted.  He  tried  to  help  men  in  their  highest  interests,  and  led 
them  to  Christ  not  merely  by  exhortations,  but  made  them  feel  the 
attractions  of  his  own  example. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  also  impressed  us  by  his  ways  as  well  as  his  views. 
He  did  not  wish  to  be  a  solitary  worker  in  any  cause  which  he 
counted  good.  With  a  modesty  not  common  among  men,  he 
never  claimed  for  himself  the  credit  of  the  good  he  promoted.  If 
others  wrought,  he  commended  and  encouraged  them.  No  timid 
worker  for  the  right  was  chilled  by  his  criticism.  No  co-workers 
for  the  Master  were  made  cautious  lest  their  success,  eclipsing  his 
credit,  should  awaken  jealousy.  All  movements  of  benevolence 


LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY.  379 

were  in  his  view  impulses  from  God,  and  the  path  of  duty  was  a 
highway  which  could  not  be  overcrowded.  In  it  he  never  placed 
any  obstruction  to  hinder  the  willing.  He  rejoiced  to  see  the 
work  of  God  advanced  by  any  instrumentality. 

"  And  moreover  he  was  constant  in  his  devotion.  '  He  walked 
in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  and  declined  neither  to  the  right  hand 
nor  to  the  left  all  the  days  of  his  life.'  " 

"  One  little  incident  connected  with  my  last  visit  to  America 
well  illustrated  his  character,  and  it  will  never  be  forgotten.  I 
never  asked  him  for  any  money  for  Robert  College 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  and  never  expected  any- 


thing  from  him  but  hearty  sympathy  and  good-  will,     D-  D.,  presi- 
which  I  was  sure  that  I  had.    I  knew  how  he  was  con-     Robert 
nected  with  the  College  at  Beirfit,  and  felt  that  we  had     College.  c°n- 

7  stantinople. 

not  the  slightest  claim  upon  him.  But  just  as  he  was 
starting  for  Europe  he  asked  me  to  call  at  his  office  at  a  certain 
hour  the  day  before  he  sailed.  I  went,  and  he  gave  me  twenty-five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  College,  with  such  words  of  sympathy  and 
cheer  as  gave  me  new  faith  in  my  work  and  new  faith  in  the  per- 
fectibility of  human  nature.  I  think  that  Mr.  Dodge's  princely 
charities  were  not,  however,  the  thing  which  endeared  him  most  to 
those  who  knew  him.  May  I  be  permitted  to  say  that  Mrs.  Wash- 
burn  and  myself  have  spoken  much  oftener  of  his  thoughtful  and 
tender,  almost  chivalric  devotion  to  his  wife  ?  And  this  same  spirit 
appeared  in  all  his  relations  of  life.  His  sympathy  was  often  worth 
more  than  his  money  to  those  whom  he  helped,  and  I  suspect  that 
the  influence  for  good  which  he  exerted  unconsciously  was  greater 
than  that  of  which  he  knew.  The  fact  that  he  has  been  called  to 
his  rest  shows  that  his  work  was  done  ;  but  his  works  will  follow 
him,  and  his  influence  for  good  will  not  cease  while  the  world 
endures." 


"  Mr.   Dodge    was  a  rare   man,   and   used    his  Hon  RuTHKR. 
extraordinary  talents  and  opportunities  with  a  devo-   TORD  B  HAYKS, 
tion  to  that  which  is  good  which  will  keep  his  name 
and  life  and  deeds  in  our  grateful  remembrance  as  long  as  any  of 
us  shall  live." 


380  LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY. 

"  I  knew  him  so  well,  and  loved  him  so  much  for  his  large- 
hearted  labors  in  every  good  word  and  work,   be- 

Hon.SCHUYLER  j  r  I   • 

COLFAX,  EX-  sides  having  realized  so  often  his  earnest,  outspoken 
vice-President.  friendsnip;  of  which  I  have  been  so  proud,  that  I 

can  safely  say,  of  all  the  thousands  who  will  mourn  his  loss,  none 
can  feel  it  more  keenly  than  myself." 

"  I  cannot  be  mistaken  in  my  belief  that  no  man  has  lived  in 

this  country  whose  influence  and  efforts  for  good  have  been  greater. 

No  one  survives  him  who  has  made,  or  can  make 

Hon.  W.  STRONG,  > 

justice  of  u.  s.  so  deep  an  impression  upon  the  life  of  the  Christian 
Supreme  Court.  community  everywhere  throughout  the  land.  In- 
estimable is  the  value  of  his  Christian  and  business  life.  What  a 
rich,  a  speaking  example,  now  finished,  but  ever  present,  we  all 
have  before  us !" 

Maj.-Gen.  o.  o.  "  How  useful,  how  noble,  how  persistent  in  doing 
merit  of  the  piatte]  tne  Master's  will  has  been  his  life  !  May  we,  in  the 
Omaha,  Neb.  short  years  remaining  to  us,  emulate  his  daily  ex- 
ample, and  be,  like  him,  '  epistles  known  and  read  of  all  men.'  " 

"  I  desire  only  to  add  my  testimony  to  that  of  thousands  upon 

thousands  tliroughout  the  world  to  the  value  of  his  noble  life. 

What  a  debt  we  owe  him  for  the  influence  upon  us  of 

Hon.  JOHN  W. 

FOSTER,  u.  s.  his  blameless  life,  so  full  of  good  words  and  works  ! 
pain.  Though  he  has  finished  his  course  at  a  ripe  old  age, 
he  still  lives  in  the  example  he  has  given  us  of  the  consistent,  liberal, 
and  active  Christian.  It  is  a  noble  inheritance  for  his  children  and 
friends,  in  which  I  claim  a  share." 

"  Others  will  speak  to  you  of  his  public  career,  so  conspicuous 
and  honorable  ;  but  I  see  him  at  this  moment  as  the  noble 
Hon  H  L  philanthropist  and  the  true  Christian  gentleman.  As 
DAWKS,  u.  s.  such  the  world  only  has  bounded  his  beneficent  labors 
and  his  benign  example.  I  have  known  him  on  two 
or  three  occasions  when  it  seemed  to  me  that  God  permitted  this 
wicked  world  to  try  him  in  order  that  the  absolute  purity  of  the 
metal  might  be  made  manifest  to  all.  How  nobly  he  bore  himself 
in  those  trials,  and  how  triumphant  his  vindication  !  His  friend- 
ship was  to  me  one  of  the  choicest  of  all  my  life,  and  I  mourn  him 
as  a  dear  brother." 


LETTERS   OF   SYMPATHY.  381 

"  A  great  light  has  gone  out,  but  not  in  darkness.  I  believe  if 
any  man  on  this  continent  lived  ready  for  the  final  summons,  it 
was  Mr.  Dodge.  He  had  a  simple,  strong,  unsullied  Hon  w 
faith.  He  belonged  wholly  to  his  Master,  and  PW,  Ex-Governor 
walked  with  him,  clung  to  him,  without  interruption,  of  Rhode  Island> 
through  sunshine  and  storm.  This  whole  nation  will  indeed  miss 
his  quick  response  to  the  calls  of  duty,  and  his  bright  example  and 
princely  gifts  in  aid  of  every  good  work.  There  are  not  many 
crowns  in  heaven  more  full  of  stars  than  his ;  and  as  his  inner 
hidden  life  becomes  known,  the  world  will  be  more  and  more 
astonished  at  the  breadth  and  greatness  of  his  character.  Months 
and  years  may  pass  away,  and  the  grass  grow  green  over  his  grave ; 
but  the  life  he  has  lived  will  be  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen  as  a  perpetual  reminder  of  how  much  a  generous 
nature,  filled  with  the  love  of  Christ,  can  accomplish  for  the  good 
of  mankind." 

"  I  met  Mr.  Dodge  a  week  ago  last  Monday  evening  in  a  great 
crowd  ;  but  he  found  a  way  to  speak  with  me  very  kindly,  and  im- 
pressed me  with  those  characteristics  which  have 

Hon.  b.  r>.  CHIT- 

made  his  life  and  work  so  unique.     It  seems  to  me     TENDEN,  Brook- 
that  his   career  will  become   historical.      No   one     yn' 
can   ever  measure   the   influence   of  his   spirit  and   example  in 
steadily  contributing  of  his  words  and  wealth  for  the  well-being  of 
mankind." 

"  I  knew  him  for  a  period  of  forty-five  years ;  and  during  the 
first  thirty  of  that  time  I  knew  him  well.  He  appeared  always  to 
be  thinking  of  the  welfare  of  others ;  and  of  this  I  Hon.  j.  WATSON 
wish  to  relate  an  instance  which  occurred  to  myself  WEBB>  N' York* 
only  last  week.  At  the  great  meeting  at  Cooper  Institute  on 
Thursday  evening  Mr.  Dodge,  who  as  first  vice-president  was 
called  upon  to  discharge  the  duties  of  our  venerable  president,  sat 
upon  his  right,  while  I  was  honored  with  a  seat  upon  his  left.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  meeting  the  room  was  warm,  and  I  took 
off  my  overcoat.  Later  a  current  of  cold  air  made  our  position 
uncomfortable.  Mr.  Dodge  pointed  to  my  coat,  and  urged  me  to 
put  it  on.  I  did  so,  and  took  my  seat ;  when  he  at  once  passed 
his  arm  in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Cooper,  and  so  adjusted  the  fur  collar  of 
my  coat  as  to  protect  me  from  the  draught.  It  was  a  very  simple 


382  LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY. 

act,  but  it  illustrated  his  character  through  life.  He  has  gone  to 
his  rest,  after  a  life  full  of  usefulness,  beloved,  honored,  and 
respected  as  rarely  falls  to  the  lot  of  man." 

"  I  have  no  language  to  express  the  feelings  of  myself  and  fam- 
ily on  reading  that  Mr.  Dodge  had  so  suddenly  died.     To  him  I 
have  no  doubt '  sudden  death  was  sudden  glory.'     It 

Mr.  GEORGE  J 

H.STUART,      is  seldom   that  a  death   out   of  my  own  immediate 
family  has  affected  me  so  much  as  that  of  my  old, 
intimate,  and  highly  valued  friend.     The  memory  of  such  a  man 
will  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance." 

"  There  is  no  cause  for  sorrow,  except  for  the  loss  to  the  world, 

which  he  made  sweeter  and  better  by  his  life.      I  loved  him, 

though  I  do  not  know  that  he  knew  aught  of  it.     His 

Mr.  JOHN 

WANAMAKBR,    life  was  an  inspiration  to  me,  and  though  he  is  gone 

Philadelphia.  \  •       •    a  -n      ^-11  XT 

away,  his  influence  will  still  move  me.     No  one  since 
Garfield's  death  has  been  so  mourned." 

"The  thought  that  must  be  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  all 
who  knew  Mr.  Dodge  well  would  be,  '  Great  gain  to  him,  greater 
Mr.  j.  v  FAR-  t^ian  our  ^oss  ^f  ^  mucn  as  the  society  and  employ- 
WKLL,  Chicago,  ments  of  heaven  are  more  satisfying  to  the  sons  of 
God  than  the  very  best  of  earth.'  The  Press  of  the  Christian 
world  will  herald  the  sad  funeral  knell,  witnessing  the  fact  that  his 
shadow,  even  in  death,  reaches  as  far  as  his  money,  prayers,  and 
sympathies  did  in  the  active  privileges  and  duties  of  a  well-rounded 
business  and  Christian  life,  full  of  energy  to  the  very  last  day  of  it." 

"  He  was  the  friend  of  all  who  knew  him  ;  but  he  was  more  than 

that  to  me,  —  he  was  my  ideal  merchant  and  Christian  gentleman. 

And  if  I  have  attained  any  reputation  as  an  honorable 

Mr.  JOHN  F. 

RATHBONE,  merchant,  and  if  my  life  has  in  any  degree  been 
marked  by  a  desire  to  live  an  unselfish  life  and  to 
make  the  world  better  for  my  living  in  it,  I  owe  it  under  God  to 
the  advice  and  example  of  that  noble  man.  My  acquaintance 
with  him  began  in  1841,  when  I  commenced  my  business  _life. 
In  1845,  when  I  established  my  own  firm  with  little  capital  save 
energy,  principle,  and  an  ambition  to  succeed,  he  was  more  than 
kind  to  me.  He  encouraged  and  inspired  me  by  his  sympathy 
and  advice,  offered  me  more  credit  than  I  needed,  and  in  all 


LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY.  383 

the  subsequent  years  of  my  active  business  life  he  never  changed, 
being  always  the  same  cheerful,  loving  friend. 

"  I  do  not  remember  any  extended  interview  with  him  when 
the  subject  of  the  higher  life  was  not  introduced,  and  always  so 
delicately  (for  he  hated  cant) ;  so  that  in  leaving  him  I  felt  that  I 
not  only  had  accomplished  my  business,  but  had  been  made  the 
richer  in  soul  and  purpose." 

"  We  had  known  him  so  long  and  so  well  that  we  had  come  to 
regard  him  as  the  ideal  of  a  high-minded  business-man  and  Christian 
gentleman.     When  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him    Mr  W[UL 
here  the  past  summer,  he  was  looking  so  well  we  had    BLAIR,  chi- 
reason  to  hope  that  his  noble  and  useful  life  would  be 
spared  for  many  years  to  be  a  blessing  to  his  family  and  the  world. 
The  announcement  of  his  death  will  bring  sadness  to  the  hearts  of 
thousands  who  knew  of  his  generous  deeds,  but  did  not  know  him 
personally. 

"In  the  calamity  that  befell  our  city  in  1871  Mr.  Dodge,  then 
in  Europe,  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  needs  of  the  suf- 
ferers ;  but  this  was  only  the  natural  impulse  of  one  who  was  ever 
on  the  alert  seeking  to  aid  the  needy,  in  imitation  of  his  Divine 
Master.  It  seldom  happens  that  such  an  ardent,  enthusiastic  de- 
sire to  benefit  others  is  combined  with  the  ability  to  do  so  noble 
a  work  in  one  lifetime.  We  feel  that  we  are  better  citizens  and 
better  men  for  having  been  permitted  to  know  and  love  him." 

"  You  know  the  loving  regard  in  which  he  was  held    Hon  E  w 
by  us,  and  our  deep  sense  of  his  loss.    As  a  bark  richly    BLATCHFORD, 
freighted  has  he  reached  the  heavenly  port." 

"  This  great  loss  is  not  his ;  but  it  is  the  desolate  home  circle 
and  the  Church  that  must  especially  feel  the  bereavement  and  ask 
who  shall  rise  to  fill  the  vacant  place. 

Mr.  1.  r. 

"  A  personal  acquaintance  of  thirty  years  with  Mr.        HANDY, 
Dodge  had  endeared  him  to  me  as  a  brother.     I  can 
never  forget  those  warm  and  cordial  greetings  always  given  me, 
whether  at  our  missionary  meetings  or  in  a  more  private  manner." 

"The  grandest  legacy  he  has  left  you  is  his  noble,  unselfish 
Christian  life,  —  a  life  in  which  so  much  was  accom-  Mr.  H.  T.  MIL- 
plished  for  God  and  his  fellow-men."  "*•  cincinnati- 


384  LETTERS  OF  SYMPATHY. 

"  One  characteristic  of  Mr.  Dodge  in  all  his  conversations  was 
Mr.  GEORGE  s.  ms  continual  dependence  upon  God,  and  his  ex- 
FROST,  Detroit.  pressed  reservation  in  all  his  plans  for  the  future,  '  If 
God  spares  my  life.'  " 

"  I  cannot  think  of  it  as  a  death,  but  only  a  stepping  upward 

into  heaven.     I  have  admired  and  loved  him  during  all  the  forty 

years  I  have  known  him.     He  has  been  to  me  a  sort 

Rev.  WILSON         * 

PHRANER,  D.D.,  of  standard,  a  model  business-man ;  and  I  have  often 
referred  to  him,  and  pointed  my  people  to  his 
example.  I  thank  God  that  he  gave  him  to  the  Church,  and  to 
New  York  city,  and  to  the  nation.  Oh  that  many  might  catch 
the  spirit  of  his  life  !  Such  lives  ought  to  be  chronicled  and 
remembered." 

"With  a  father's  loving  interest  he  counselled  me  upon  my 
entering  the  ministry ;  and  never  shall  I  forget  his  generous  offer 

when  he  said  to  me :  '  If  you  are  willing  to  give  up 
DUNN.D.D.,  your  business  and  devote  your  whole  time  to  study,  I 

will  sustain  you.'  This  I  did  not  see  was  necessary ; 
but  the  generous  spirit  I  appreciated,  and  all  through  my  studies 
and  my  subsequent  ministerial  career  he  was  my  fast  friend,  whose 
advice  I  felt  free  to  seek,  and  never  sought  in  vain." 

"  Wherever  he  went,  the  grass  grew  greener,  the  flowers  bloomed 
fresher,  and  the  faces  of  men,  women,  and  children  looked  happier. 
He  was  a  special  blessing  to  all  the  churches  by  his 
KINS,  Weiisboro,  counsels  and  co-operation  with  the  ministers.  He 
went  into  our  prayer-meetings  and  Sabbath  congre- 
gations like  a  beam  of  daylight.  He  was  kindling-wood  to  all  our 
devotions.  If  any  one  was  ever  happier  than  he  in  going  from 
house  to  house,  into  stores  and  offices,  talking  and  praying  with 
all  sorts  of  men,  in  all  conditions  of  mind,  on  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion, it  has  not  been  my  privilege,  in  a  ministry  of  nearly  forty 
years,  to  become  acquainted  with  that  man.  It  would  seem  as  if 
his  zeal  and  fidelity  could  not  but  have  given  offence  sometimes ; 
but  I  never  knew  such  a  case.  There  was  sunlight  in  his  face,  and 
love  in  his  heart,  and  often  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  must  have 
disarmed  all  opposition. 

"  The  variety  of  his  religious  interests  was  greater  and  more 


LETTERS   OF   SYMPATHY.  385 

evenly  balanced  than  that  of  any  man  I  ever  saw.  Generally  such 
active  philanthropists  have  a  specialty  or  hobby  somewhere.  His 
was  anything,  anywhere,  any  man,  or  church,  or  society,  or  enter- 
prise, by  which  God's  name  could  be  glorified,  and  the  human 
race  saved  from  sin  and  its  punishment.  He  wanted  to  see  men, 
communities,  and  the  world  grow  better  and  happier.  His  large 
experience  and  practical  ways  of  doing  things  seemed  to  lift  the 
chariot-wheels  over  many  rugged  places." 

"  It  is  seldom  that  any  one  is  so  widely  mourned  or  so  gener- 
ally loved,  and  perhaps  still  more  seldom  that  one  Rev  HHNRY  A 
leaves  the  record  of  so  blameless  a  life.     His  name  STIMSON,  Wor- 

...     ,  ,  ,.  .       .  ,    cester,  Mass. 

will  long   be  on  many   lips   as  an   inspiration   and 
appeal  to  young  men." 

"  My  heart  tells  me  to  offer  a  word  of  sincere  sympathy  in  the 
great  sorrow  which  has  come  upon  your  household,  and  upon 
a  larger  household,  which  numbers  many  thousands 

Rev.J.  LEONARD 

all  over  this  land.  And  yet  let  us  not  speak  the  CORING,  Mor- 
word  'death'  in  connection  with  that  good  man,  nstown»N-J-  , 
whose  brave  testimony  and  example  will  be  living  and  potent 
for  generations  to  come.  Such  as  he  the  world  will  not  soon 
forget ;  and  even  should  it  forget  them,  it  will  still  feel  the  healing 
ministry  of  their  lives." 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  tears  that  he  shed  as  he  sat  by  my 
dear  mother's  side  on  the  day  of  my  own  father's  funeral,  and 
how  affectionately  he  spoke  of  the  friend  he  had  „ 

J  Rev.  GEORGE  H. 

loved.  The  same  tenderness  of  Christian  sympathy  GRIFFIN,  Miiford, 
was  shown  again  when  he  not  only  came  to  my 
mother's  funeral,  but  sought  us  out  when  the  services  were  over, 
that  he  might  extend  the  friendly  hand  and  speak  the  loving  word. 
With  great  sincerity,  I  introduced  his  name  at  the  close  of  my  dis- 
course last  Sabbath  afternoon  as  an  example  of  my  theme,  '  Wis- 
dom in  winning  souls  to  Christ.'  Surely  his  crown  must  be  a 
bright  one,  for  'they that  turn  many  to  righteousness  shall  shine 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.'  " 

"  Will  you  allow  the  old  missionary  from  Kentucky  to  mingle 
his  tears  of  sympathy  and  sorrow  with  you  and  your  loved  ones 

25 


386  LETTERS   OF   SYMPATHY. 

in  your  desolated  home  ?     I  have  not  forgotten,  I  never  can  forget 
those  delightful  anniversary  meetings  in  the  Church  of  the  Cove- 
nant.    I  can  now  see  the  central  figures  that  I  always 

Rev.  JOHN  Me-  t 

CULLAGH,  Hen-  looked  for,  just  as  vividly  as  when  I  was  speaking,  — 
derson,  Ky.  the  pastor)  Dr  prentiss>  Brother  Dodge  the  superin- 
tendent, the  venerable  Dr.  Skinner,  Mrs.  Dodge,  and  Mrs.  Prentiss, 
all  '  stepping  heavenward : '  three  of  whom  have  already  passed 
through  the  pearly  gates.  I  can  still  see  the  large,  loving  heart 
mount  into  his  face,  and  hear  his  ringing  and  eloquent  voice,  with 
its  cheering  words,  which  always  put  fire  into  my  bones.  A  fine 
likeness  of  him  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  my  room.  It  has 
often  cheered  me  when  sad  and  discouraged.  I  look  at  it  now 
with  sadness  and  sorrow;  but  it  seems  to  speak  still  and  say, 
'  Time  is  short !  Work  for  Jesus ;  then  come  up  higher,  and  rest  in 
heaven.'  I  have  never  met  him  without  feeling  better,  happier, 
and  nearer  our  heavenly  home,  —  indeed  his  whole  life  was  a  bene- 
diction. I  wrote  him  on  the  2d  of  January  about  our  work  in 
Kentucky,  its  trials  and  triumphs.  He  replied  with  his  accus- 
tomed promptness  and  princely  liberality.  I  had  already  selected 
his  missionary,  and  arranged  for  a  monthly  correspondence ;  but  he 
is  called  up  higher,  and  has  received  a  starry  crown." 

"  I  owe  to  Mr.  Dodge  all  I  am  to-day  under  God.  If  I  have  a 
rich  and  ripe  experience  in  Christian  living,  I  owe  it  to  him  as  the 
stimulating  power,  quickened  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  If 
B.  LEWIS,  Red  God  has  shown  me  his  guiding  hand,  and  allowed  me 
Vmg,Mmn.  fo  ^^  eminent  trophies  of  his  abounding  free  grace, 
and  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom  through  the  children  as  a 
co-worker  with  him,  I  owe  it  to  the  earnest,  enthusiastic  words  of 
Mr.  Dodge  at  Jersey  Shore,  Pa.,  when  I  as  a  business-man  saw  in 
him  as  a  business-man  love  for  souls  and  what  a  business-man 
might  do  to  aid  the  Christian  ministry,  —  when  I  saw  men  by  the 
score  professing  the  name  of  Christ  under  his  faithful  exhortations. 
It  was  at  this  time  I  made  my  first  public  profession  of  faith  in 
Christ.  A  few  years  after  this  event  I  came  to  the  West,  and  saw 
all  about  me  people  not  in  sympathy  with  our  institutions  turning 
away  from  the  Holy  Sabbath,  profaning  God's  name,  falling  into 
habits  of  gross  intemperance ;  and  I  began  to  ask  him  whose  I 
was,  for  the  spirit  of  William  E.  Dodge.  I  believe  that  in  some 


LETTERS   OF  SYMPATHY.  387 

small  degree  this  was  granted,  and  for  twenty-five  years  he  was  my 
guiding-star  and  counsellor  in  aggressive  work  for  the  dear  Master 
we  both  loved. 

"  In  one  of  his  letters  to  me,  written  after  he  had  been  attending 
the  General  Assembly,  convened  that  year  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  he 
adds,  '  May  God  bless  you  in  all  your  efforts  !  Let  me  say  con- 
fidentially, for  your  encouragement  and  mine,  and  for  the  glory  of 
God,  that  the  pastor  of  the  Church  where  our  sessions  were  held 
introduced  me  to  a  gentleman  who  kept  a  large  drug-store  there, 
and  who  said  he  wished  to  tell  me  that  it  was  at  the  meetings  in 
Jersey  Shore,  and  words  that  I  spoke,  which,  as  he  hoped,  led  him 
to  choose  Christ  as  his  portion.  I  found  he  was.  an  active  member 
of  the  church  and  Sunday-school.  Let  us  sow  beside  all  waters, 
praying  for  a  Divine  blessing.'  " 

"  My  husband  and  myself  wish  to  say  to  you  that  no  one  has 
been  taken  from  our  work  that  we  feel  their  loss  so  deeply  as  we 
do  our  dear  brother  Mr.  Dodge.      You   can  never 
know  what  it  is  to  have  been  encouraged  to  go  on  in  iuR 


purity  and  goodness,  because  you  have  always  been  LE^  cremorne 
pure  ;  but  we  were  not.  And  when  he  said  to  us,  by 
his  kindness  and  confidence  in  us,  '  God  bless  you,'  '  Go  on,'  and 
took  us  by  the  hand,  all  we  can  say  is,  *  We  do  mourn  our  loss,' 
and  our  prayers  have  been  that  '  the  Everlasting  Arms  may  be 
around,  about,  and  underneath  you.'  " 

"  I  was  greatly  distressed  yesterday  morning,  before  entering  my 
pulpit,  by  hearing  the  sad  tidings.  I  spoke  of  it  before  prayer, 
and  we  all  sought  for  you  the  help  of  the  '  God  of  all  Rev  NEWMAN 
consolation.'  Many  wept  in  sympathy  with  you  and  HALL,  LL.B., 
at  the  loss  of  one  who  had  been  such  a  friend  to  our 
church.  We  especially  remembered  your  late  visit,  lunching  with  us 
in  our  vestry,  your  coming  up  to  our  house  in  the  evening,  and  Mr. 
Dodge's  presence  at  our  school  and  prayer-meeting.  All  seems  so 
fresh  !  And  I  can  never  forget  all  his  kindness  to  me  when  in 
America,  —  his  generous  aid  to  my  mission  ;  and  I  see  him  with 
his  own  hands  helping  to  pack  my  things.  He  blessed  every  one 
whom  he  met.  How  many  will  mourn  him  !  May  God  so  fill  your 
heart  with  His  peace  that  the  cloud  may  lose  its  darkness  in  the 
glory  of  its  golden  lining." 


388  LETTERS   OF  SYMPATHY. 

(And  February  27.)  "I  enclose  the  resolutions  which  were 
voted  at  our  Church-meeting  last  night,  and  which  have  been 
signed  by  our  elders  in  behalf  of  the  congregation.  They  express 
our  true  sympathy  with  you,  and  the  grateful  memories  and  high 
respect  we  cherish  towards  the  dear  friend  we  have  lost.  I  read  to 
the  people  last  night  Dr.  Cuyler's  funeral  address,  and  we  prayed 
lovingly  for  you  and  your  family." 

"  All  who  knew  him,  loved  him ;  and  those  of  us  who  had  lived 
with  him  under  his  own  roof,  and  saw  him  just  as  he  was,  loved 
Rev  j  c  mm  ^k  a  deep,  warm,  tender  love,  which  death 
HARRISON,  itself  cannot  lessen.  He  was  so  bright  and  cheerful, 

D.D.,  London.  ,  ,     /.  ,  , 

and  yet  so  thoughtful  and  true-hearted,  so  thorough  a 
man  of  business,  and  at  the  same  time  so  faithful  a  follower  of  his 
Lord,  so  generous  and  self-oblivious  wherever  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity or  humanity  was  concerned,  that  it  is  difficult  to  look 
around  and  discover  his  match.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  wel- 
come which  he  gave  to  my  dear  friend  Dr.  Stoughton  and  myself, 
nor  the  thoughtful  care  with  which  he  arranged  all  things  for  us. 
Never  can  I  forget  the  sweetness  of  his  disposition,  and  the  de- 
voutness  of  his  spirit,  and  the  interest  he  showed  in  everything 
good  and  great.  Never  can  I  forget  our  conversations,  our  heart- 
fellowship,  our  united  prayers.  And  now  all  this  is  but  a  mem- 
ory ;  and  yet  a  memory  of  a  delightful  reality,  —  a  memory  which 
grows  to  give  substance  and  reality  to  an  anticipation  higher  still. 
We  shall  see  him  transfigured,  and  all  that  was  so  lovable  on  earth 
made  perfectly  lovely  in  the  heavenly  home." 

"  How  little  we  know  when  the  last  time  is  the  last !      Not- 
withstanding his  advanced  and  rapidly  advancing  years,  I  had, 
„  when  bidding  him  farewell  in  London,  the  hope  of 

Rev.  HENRY 

ALLON, D.D.,  again  seeing  him  before  very  long  in  America;  but 
his  removal  has  anticipated  the  time  even  then  fixed. 
He  has  come  to  his  grave  in  a  good  old  age,  full  of  honors  such  as 
are  most  to  be  coveted,  —  the  honors  of  the  wise  and  good,  with 
the  blessings  of  many  ready  to  perish  evoked  by  his  name.  Two 
peoples  honor  him ;  for  if  not  so  well  known  in  England  as  in 
America,  he  was  well  enough  known  to  be  held  in  a  very  general 
esteem.  He  'hath  good  report  of  all  men,  and  of  the  truth  itself: 


LETTERS   OF  SYMPATHY.  389 

yea,  and  we  also  bear  record.'    The  death  of  such  men  makes  the 
world  appreciably  poorer." 

"  I  beg  you  to  accept  my  warm,  hearty  thanks  for  sending  to  me 
the  books  which  Mr.  Dodge  had  used.  Books  which  have  been 
prized  by  a  godly  man,  the  thoughts  they  have  sug- 

.     ,    V.  Sir  HARRY 

gested,  the  warning  as  well  as  the  consolation  they  VBRNEY,  M.P., 

have  afforded,  all  aid  in  the  difficulties  attending:  men  uroydo" 

'  House,  Buck- 

immersed  in  the  world's  business,  engaged  in  duties  inghamshire, 

that  cannot  be  neglected  without  injury  to  others,  and  "s  an 
subject  to  temptation  within  and  without.  I  always  hoped  that  it 
might  be  my  good  fortune  to  visit  the  United  States,  to  renew  inti- 
macy with  Mr.  Dodge,  and  to  make  acquaintance  with  many  with 
whom  intercourse  would  be  agreeable  ;  but  occupations  and  duties 
in  England  make  it  difficult  to  go  abroad.  I  thank  you  for  your 
goodness  in  giving  me  the  details  of  the  departure  of  my  dear  and 
most  highly  esteemed  friend." 

"  I  had  the  most  profound  veneration  for  him  and  admiration 
for  his  noble  stand  on  the  side  of  the  truth.  His 

Mr.  HUGH 

Christian  liberality  was  a  great  example.     It  was  with      MATHESON, 
singular  pleasure  that  I  met  him  in  London  in  the      London- 
autumn  of  1881." 

"  My  wife  and  I  desire  to  say  with  what  regret  and  emotion  we 
received  the  tidings  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Dodge,  and  how  warmly 
and  tenderly  we  feel  for  you  in  your  time  of  bereave-  Prof  w  L 
ment.  Thankfulness  for  the  mercies  of  a  lifetime  I  BLAIKIE,  D.D., 
doubt  not  predominate  in  your  heart  even  amid  all 
the  sorrow  and  desolation.  Your  happiness  in  the  thought  of  his 
happiness  will  be  another  blessed  feeling,  and  in  the  thought  that 
it  pleased  God  at  an  early  period  of  his  life  to  draw  his  heart  to 
Himself,  and  to  give  him  the  unspeakable  privilege  of  consecrating 
himself  to  His  service  and  of  spending  time  and  substance  and  all 
in  endeavors  to  advance  His  glorious  kingdom." 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

UNVEILING  OF   THE   STATUE. 

THE  proceedings  at  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Mr. 
Dodge,  Jan.  13,  1886,  were  published  in  a  small  volume 
by  the  Committee  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  having  in 
charge  the  erection  of  the  monument.  The  addresses  are 
reprinted  here,  together  with  the  introductory  statement, 
prepared  by  the  Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.D. 

The  statue  is  of  bronze,  nine  feet  six  inches  in  height, 
and  stands  upon  a  pedestal  of  polished  gray  granite.  The 
pedestal  and  its  surroundings  were  designed  by  Mr. 
Richard  M.  Hunt.  An  engraving  provided  by  the  cour- 
tesy of  the  Committee  gives  a  correct  representation  of 
the  whole.  Upon  the  back  of  the  pedestal  the  following 
inscription  appears :  — 

ERECTED  BY  VOLUNTARY  SUBSCRIPTIONS,  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES 

OF  THE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  OF  THE  CITY  OF 

NEW  YORK,  1885. 

IT  has  long  been  customary  in  the   olden   land   from  which 

we  derive  our  language,  and  many  of  us  our  lineage,  to  erect 

public  memorials  to  the  men  who  have  been  eminent 

for  lives  of  philanthropy.     The  statue  of  William  Wilber- 

force  looks  down  from  the  summit  of  a  lofty  column  over  the  city 

of  Hull,  which  he  represented  in  Parliament  when  he  was  battling 

for  the  freedom  of  the  bondmen.    The  figure  of  George  Peabody 

greets  the  merchants  of  London  every  day  as  they  throng  around 

the  Royal  Exchange.     In  the  streets  of  Kidderminster  stands  the 

statue  of  Richard  Baxter,  the  eloquent  preacher  to  humble  arti- 


UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE.  391 

sans ;  and  on  the  Thames  Embankment  is  one  of  Robert  Raikes, 
the  founder  of  Sunday-schools.  Similar  monuments  to  careers  of 
beautiful  beneficence  adorn  other  cities  of  Britain  and  of  the 
Continent. 

In  our  own  younger  country  this  meed  of  public  honor  has 
hitherto  been  paid  chiefly  to  those  who  were  eminent  in  arms  or 
in  statesmanship,  in  science  or  in  letters.  But  a  genius  for  doing 
good  would  seem  to  be  as  worthy  of  posthumous  gratitude  as  a 
genius  for  using  the  sword  or  the  pen  or  the  eloquent  tongue. 
Deeds  of  unselfish  benevolence  deserve  a  monument  as  truly  as 
deeds  of  patriotism,  or  the  achievements  of  distinguished  states- 
manship and  intellectual  culture.  Such  acts  of  homage  to  the 
dead  are  inspirations  to  the  living.  The  community  which  places 
the  highest  premium  upon  largeness  of  heart  and  liberality  of  hand 
will  be  the  most  likely  to  be  enriched  by  generous  benefactors. 

The  first  step  in  this  direction  of  public  and  permanent  com- 
memoration of  eminent  philanthropy,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
has  been  taken  by  rearing  this  statue  to  the  late  Hon. 
William  Earl  Dodge.  The  precedent  thus  established  may  be 
followed,  as  we  trust,  by  a  long  line  of  successors.  Mr.  Dodge 
was  not  a  native  of  this  city.  He  was  born  on  the  4th  of  Sept- 
ember, 1805,  at  Hartford,  in  the  neighboring  State  of  Connecticut. 
Coming  hither  in  his  early  boyhood,  he  spent  his  long,  virtuous, 
and  useful  life  in  this  metropolis.  The  story  of  his  career  in  its 
most  salient  points  is  set  forth  in  the  addresses  delivered  at  the 
dedication  of  this  statue.  His  sudden  death,  at  the  ripe  age  of 
nearly  seventy-eight,  occurred  on  the  morning  of  Feb.  9,  1883. 
Testimonials  of  grateful  respect  to  his  memory  were  immediately 
rendered  by  a  large  number  of  public  bodies  and  of  benevolent 
societies  in  New  York  and  in  other  portions  of  the  land.  As  his 
gifts  and  labors  of  beneficence  were  not  hemmed  in  by  sectional 
or  sectarian  boundaries,  these  testimonials  of  veneration  came  from 
people  of  various  localities,  of  all  political  parties  and  all  religious 
denominations.  None  of  these  honest  tributes  were  more  touching 
than  those  which  were  paid  by  the  humblest  recipients  of  his 
bounty  in  this  city,  by  foreign  missionaries,  and  by  many  of  the 
negro  freedmen  of  the  South. 

Soon  after  his  lamented  death  it  was  suggested  that  a  permanent 
memorial,  to  commemorate  his  life-long  services  to  this  community, 


3Q2  UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE. 

should  be  erected  by  his  neighbors  and  fellow-townsmen.  To 
carry  out  this  suggestion  a  number  of  his  personal  friends  met  at 
the  rooms  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  (of  which  he  had  been 
the  president  for  several  years)  on  the  3d  of  March,  1883.  At 
this  meeting  a  Committee  was  appointed  to  consider  and  devise  a 
plan  which  would  most  fittingly  meet  the  wishes  of  the  public. 
This  Committee  recommended  that  a  bronze  statue,  of  life  size, 
with  a  suitable  pedestal,  should  be  erected,  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions, in  some  prominent  part  of  the  city.  The  recommen- 
dation was  unanimously  adopted  at  an  adjourned  meeting  on  the 
1 2th  of  March.  The  Committee  who  were  appointed  to  carry  out 
this  project  were  Messrs.  William  H.  Fogg,1  Samuel  D.  Babcock, 
Samuel  Sloan,  John  A.  Stewart,  Morris  K.  Jesup,  John  Crosby 
Brown,  and  Charles  Lanier.  Mr.  Jesup  consented  to  act  as 
treasurer,  and  cheerfully  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  the 
undertaking  until  its  successful  completion.  Three  hundred  and 
eighty  persons  contributed  their  subscriptions  of  money ;  and  the 
construction  of  the  statue  was  intrusted  to  the  distinguished  sculp- 
tor Mr.  J.  Q.  A.  Ward.  The  spot  designated  for  its  erection  was 
at  the  intersection  of  Thirty-fourth  Street,  Broadway,  and  Sixth 
Avenue.  In  recognition  of  Mr.  Dodge's  life-long  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  temperance,  a  beautiful  drinking-fountain  of  pure  water 
is  connected  with  the  granite  pedestal.  The  ceremonies  of  unveil- 
ing and  dedicating  the  monumental  statue  took  place  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  22d  of  October,  1885.  A  large  gathering  of  eminent 
citizens  assembled  in  the  hall  of  the  adjoining  Armory  to  listen  to 
the  eloquent  and  appropriate  addresses. 

After  the  completion  of  the  exercises  in  the  Armory  the  national 
flag,  which  concealed  the  statue,  was  withdrawn,  and  a  concourse 
of  his  fellow-townsmen  looked  with  admiring  veneration  on  the 
familiar  features  of  the  good  man  whom  they  had  known  so  long 
and  loved  so  tenderly.  The  participants  in  that  day's  ceremonies 
will  soon  pass  away ;  the  impressive  words  here  recorded  may  in 
time  be  forgotten :  but  the  imperishable  statue  will  endure,  and 
will  speak  to  coming  generations  of  the  eminent  public  services, 
the  generous  gifts,  and  the  spotless  life  of  William  Earl  Dodge, 
the  merchant,  the  patriot,  the  Christian,  and  the  philanthropist. 

1  Mr.  Fogg  subsequently  died,  and  Mr.  A.  A.  Low  was  appointed  to  fill 
the  vacancy. 


UNVEILING  OF  THE   STATUE.  393 

Mr.  Samuel  D.  Babcock,  president  of  the  Chamber,  pre- 
sided. The  ceremonies  were  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Theodore  Cuyler,  after  which  the  Chairman  spoke 
as  follows :  — 

THERE  is  no  more  agreeable  duty,  no  greater  privilege,  than 
to  commemorate  in  a  substantial  and  fitting  manner  the  lives  of 
those  who  have  exerted  a  powerful  and  beneficent  influence  upon 
society.  In  recognition  of  this  fact,  upon  this  bright  autumnal 
day,  when  Nature  so  forcibly  reminds  us  of  those  who  have  passed 
away,  we  come  together  to  inaugurate  the  statue  of  our  friend  the 
late  Mr.  Dodge.  He  was  neither  soldier,  statesman,  poet,  nor  scien- 
tist ;  but,  better  than  many  of  such,  he  was  the  living  embodiment 
of  faith,  hope,  charity,  and  temperance,  and  these  qualities  enabled 
him  to  discharge  with  rare  fidelity  his  duty  to  his  Maker  and  to 
mankind.  To  this  end  he  freely  used  the  talents  he  possessed, 
whether  of  mind,  body,  or  estate.  If  I  were  asked  to  select  his 
epitaph,  I  should  adopt  as  most  appropriate  the  words  of  the  great 
Apostle  :  "  Distributing  to  the  necessity  of  saints  ;  given  to  hospital- 
ity ;  not  slothful  in  business  ;  fervent  in  spirit ;  serving  the  Lord." 

And  now,  Mr.  Mayor,  I  have  the  honor,  in  behalf  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements,  to  present  to  the  city  of  New  York 
through  you,  its  acting  chief  magistrate,  the  statue  of  the  late 
William  E.  Dodge,  in  the  confident  hope  that  the  mayor  and  those 
who  may  succeed  him  in  his  high  office  will  take  care  to  preserve 
this  gift  as  a  perpetual  reminder  of  an  upright  and  influential  mer- 
chant, a  useful  and  loyal  citizen,  a  zealous  and  tender-hearted 
Christian  philanthropist,  —  and  in  fine,  sir,  an  illustrious  type  of  a 
true  and  lofty  manhood. 

ADDRESS   BY   HON.   ADOLPH   L.   SANGER. 
(ACTING-MAYOR.) 

MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN,  —  The  pleasing  duty  has 
been  assigned  to  me,  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  this  city,  of 
accepting  this  statue. 

The  occasions  upon  which  the  community  has  been  called 
together  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  great  merchants  and  philan- 
thropists of  this  city  have  been  few  indeed. 


394  UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE. 

It  is  something  to  have  so  lived  as  to  deserve  public  recognition 
for  good  works  faithfully  performed. 

Aside  from  the  honorable  reputation  which  a  long  and  useful 
business  career  had  deservedly  won  for  William  E.  Dodge,  we 
must  respect  his  profound  religious  convictions,  as  he  understood 
his  duties  to  his  fellow-men,  doing  all  the  good  which  his  means 
and  his  zeal  permitted.  He  was  identified  with  some  of  the  most 
important  charitable  enterprises  of  this  city,  and  witnessed  their 
growth  from  small  beginnings  to  mature  development.  He  was 
proud  of  his  citizenship  as  a  New  Yorker,  and  especially  proud  of 
his  connection  with  the  mercantile  and  financial  interests  of  our 
metropolis.  His  honorable  career  as  an  officer  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  is  historical. 

New  York  has  not  been  sufficiently  generous  in  its  apprecia- 
tion of  its  merchant-princes.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  their 
indifference  to  public  life,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  to  their 
business  integrity  and  enterprise  New  York  is  indebted  for  much 
of  its  greatness  and  commercial  prosperity. 

We  congratulate  the  people  of  this  city  upon  this  work  of  art ; 
and  as  it  is  the  beginning  of  the  monuments  which  we  hope  to 
have  erected  to  the  memory  of  its  great  merchants,  let  us  trust 
that  an  active  and  generous  public  spirit  may  lead  to  the  early 
completion  of  similar  honorable  mementos,  which  shall  indicate 
how  sincerely  we  appreciate  the  eminent  services  they  have  ren- 
dered, and  which  shall  encourage  the  young  in  honest  enterprise 
and  upright  business  methods. 


ADDRESS   OF   THE   HON.    ABRAM   S.    HEWITT. 

NEW  YORK  has  not  been  prodigal  of  public  statues.  The  erec- 
tion of  such  memorials  is  a  privilege  which  should  not  be  lightly 
sought  or  readily  granted.  It  is  the  highest  honor  which  can  be 
paid  to  a  citizen  that  his  memory  and  features  shall  be  preserved 
in  bronze  or  marble  for  the  reverent  homage  of  future  generations. 
As  a  rule,  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  favorable  judgment  of  posterity 
should  decide  the  claim  for  such  eminent  recognition.  We  have 
not  yet  erected  statues  to  Fulton,  who  gave  us  steam  navigation, 
or  to  De  Witt  Clinton,  who  created  the  highway  of  commerce  which 


UNVEILING   OF  THE  STATUE.  395 

has  made  New  York  great  and  rich.  All  men  will  agree  that  too 
much  honor  cannot  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  such  public  bene- 
factors by  the  generations  which  have  inherited  their  glory  and 
profited  by  their  genius. 

Why,  then,  when  Fulton  and  Clinton  still  remain  without  the 
crowning  honor  of  a  public  memorial,  does  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce —  under  whose  auspices  this  statue  to  William  E.  Dodge 
has  been  erected  by  the  voluntary  subscriptions  of  three  hundred 
and  eighty  persons,  no  one  of  whom  inherits  his  blood  —  ask  the 
use  of  a  public  square  for  its  permanent  resting-place  ?  Even  with 
all  his  virtues  fresh  in  our  minds,  and  with  the  fruits  of  his  long 
and  well-spent  life  in  our  possession  and  enjoyment,  we  cannot 
venture  to  compare  his  unquestionable  merits  with  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  great  men  who  laid  the  foundations  of  our  commercial 
supremacy. 

But  there  are  men  who  can  wait  for  recognition ;  and  there  are, 
on  the  other  hand,  characters  which  demand  present  recognition, 
if  recognition  is  ever  to  be  given.  Fulton  and  Clinton  are  identi- 
fied with  a  development  which  will  last  as  long  as  the  continent 
shall  endure.  Their  names  and  fame  form  part  of  the  very  struc- 
ture and  growth  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Their  monuments  are 
ever  before  us,  and  there  is  no  danger  that  their  works  or  their 
genius  will  ever  be  forgotten. 

Not  so  with  Mr.  Dodge  and  the  life-work  which  endeared  him 
to  the  community  to  which  he  came  when  a  youth,  and  to  the 
people  among  whom  he  lived  for  more  than  half  a  century.  He 
began  his  career  of  usefulness  as  the  "  boy  "  in  a  store,  whose  lot 
was  by  no  means  so  easy  as  it  now  is,  with  the  appliances  of  copy- 
ing-presses, telegraphs,  telephones,  and  with  porters  to  do  the 
heavy  work  of  the  office.  By  his  diligence,  fidelity,  and  probity 
he  made  his  way  with  slow  and  toilsome  steps  to  the  head  of  the 
greatest  house  in  his  branch  of  business  in  the  world,  owing  its 
growth  and  success  mainly  to  his  spirit  of  enterprise,  his  large  intel- 
ligence, and  his  sleepless  activity.  He  accumulated  wealth  with- 
out exciting  the  envy  or  ill-will  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  was  the 
friend  and  earnest  supporter  of  every  beneficent  public  enterprise. 
He  showed  his  public  spirit  by  assisting  in  the  building  of  canals, 
railways,  telegraphs,  and  ocean  cables,  when  it  required  courage 
and  self-sacrifice  to  engage  in  what  were  regarded  as  desirable  but 


396  UNVEILING   OF  THE   STATUE. 

hazardous  public  enterprises.  He  was  connected  with  the  public 
schools,  and  was  the  friend  of  popular  education.  He  led  an  un- 
assuming, Christian  life,  aiding  missionary  enterprises  and  building 
churches  in  the  waste  places.  He  was  the  promoter  of  temperance, 
and  a  munificent  donor  to  all  associations  organized  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  and  religion  among  the  young,  and  especially 
among  the  clerks  of  New  York,  of  whom  he  had  been  one,  and  in 
whom  he  felt  a  parental  interest.  He  was  the  friend  of  the  en- 
slaved in  this  and  other  lands,  and  freely  gave  his  time  and  money 
for  the  amelioration  of  their  condition  by  means  of  colonization 
and  other  remedial  agencies.  He  took  part  in  every  public  move- 
ment in  this  city  for  "better  local  government,  and  was  a  generous 
benefactor  to  the  museums  and  galleries  of  art  designed  to  refine 
and  to  educate  the  masses.  He  tried  to  prevent  the  horrors  of 
civil  war ;  and  in  consequence  of  his  high  character  and  patriotic 
impulses  he  was  selected  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New 
York  as  a  member  of  the  Peace  Commission,  which  in  vain 
attempted  to  bring  about  an  accommodation  and  prevent  the 
impending  conflict  between  the  North  and  the  South.  When 
finally  the  death-struggle  came,  he  entered  heart  and  soul  into 
every  movement  for  the  support  of  the  Government.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Union  Defence  Committee,  and  chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Conference  with  other  cities  to  aid  in  organizing 
troops,  equipping  regiments,  and  forwarding  supplies.  His  family 
nobly  seconded  his  patriotic  efforts ;  and  one  of  his  sons  entered 
the  military  service,  and  returned  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general.  He  was  chairman  of  the  New  York 
branch  of  the  Christian  Commission,  which  charged  itself  with  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  troops.  He  took  part  in  the  formation  of 
the  Loyal  National  League,  organized  to  strengthen  the  Govern- 
ment in  1863,  when  the  Union  prospects  were  darkest.  He  de- 
nounced from  the  steps  of  the  Sub-Treasury  the  draft-riots  in  New 
York,  at  the  risk  of  his  life  and  property,  which  he  considered  as 
nought  so  long  as  the  Union  was  saved  and  his  country  restored  to 
honorable  peace. 

Subsequently  his  grateful  fellow-citizens  honored  him  with  a  seat 
in  Congress,  where  he  not  only  advocated  sound  financial  meas- 
ures at  a  time  when  error  was  rife,  but  resisted  his  own  party  in  its 
reconstruction  policy,  predicting  with  remarkable  foresight  the 


UNVEILING   OF   THE   STATUE.  397 

lamentable  results  which  flowed  from  its  adoption.  He  declined  a 
re-election  to  Congress  for  personal  reasons,  but  left  on  the  com- 
munity the  conviction  that  he  was  in  all  respects  a  model  citizen, 
a  merchant  as  honorable  as  he  was  eminent,  and  a  good  Christian, 
who  performed  his  duties  without  fear  and  lived  a  life  without  re- 
proach. Above  all,  the  merchants  of  New  York  felt  an  honest 
pride  in  his  character,  career,  and  success  in  life ;  and  by  them  he 
was  held  in  such  repute  and  honor  that  for  eight  successive  years 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  in  all  movements  of  a  public  nature  he  was 
recognized  as  their  champion  and  leader.  In  him  all  men  saw  the 
original  of  the  inimitable  portrait  sketched  by  Dr.  William  Adams 
when  in  his  presence  he  said  of  the  ideal  merchant :  — 

"  I  know  not  the  man  at  this  period  of  time  who  occupies  a  position  more 
exalted  —  above  the  valor  of  the  soldier  or  the  arts  of  the  politician,  with 
opportunities  more  auspicious  in  their  bearing  on  the  well-being  of  society 
—  than  a  merchant,  intelligent  in  mind,  honest  in  principle,  cultivated  in 
tastes,  simple  in  manners,  generous  in  sympathies,  liberal  in  conception, 
bountiful  in  gifts,  the  accredited  friend  of  letters,  science  and  art,  charity 
and  religion,  standing  on  the  ground  of  commercial  success,  the  honored 
almoner  of  a  benignant  Providence." 

Surely  it  is  a  good  thing  for  the  community  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  such  a  man,  and  to  hold  up  for  enduring  honor  the 
noble  record  of  such  a  life,  pure,  unselfish,  and  beneficent.  But 
this  has  not  been  the  practice  of  men  in  this  or  in  any  age.  The 
warrior  and  the  statesman  have  carried  off  the  honors  of  history, 
while  the  merchant  and  the  philanthropist  have  been  rewarded 
with  the  approval  only  of  a  good  conscience  and  the  fleeting  com- 
mendation of  the  time,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant ! " 
But  our  civilization  has  entered  upon  a  new  era.  The  potent 
forces  of  modern  life  are  those  which  regulate  its  industry  and  dif- 
fuse the  blessings  of  unlimited  production  through  the  medium  of 
healthful  commerce  between  nations.  Construction  is  now  held  in 
higher  repute  than  destruction.  At  length  we  begin  to  compre- 
hend the  significance  of  the  injunction,  "  Learn  to  do  good  and 
distribute."  Society  naturally  does  honor  to  the  agencies  which  it 
regards  as  most  beneficent.  It  is  a  most  encouraging  and  sug- 
gestive departure,  therefore,  from  the  traditions  of  the  past,  when 
the  members  of  a  commercial  community  are  moved  to  perpetuate 


398  UNVEILING  OF  THE   STATUE. 

the  memory  of  one  of  their  number  whose  chief  claim  to  distinc- 
tion lies  in  a  noble  character,  a  useful  life,  and,  above  all,  in  the 
employment  of  his  means  as  a  trust-fund  for  the  good  of  his 
fellow-men. 

This  monument,  then,  may  be  said  to  represent  a  new  phase 
in  the  progress  of  human  development,  in  an  era  not  merely  of 
great  physical  triumphs,  but  of  higher  and  nobler  intellectual  and 
moral  perceptions,  basing  the  true  glory  of  man  upon  his  love  for 
his  fellow-men  and  upon  the  sacrifices  which  he  makes  for  the 
advancement  and  welfare  of  the  race.  Other  men  before  Mr. 
Dodge  have  given  life  and  fortune  to  good  works,  and  have  doubt- 
less found,  as  he  did,  a  full  reward  in  the  satisfaction  of  well-doing. 
But  they  have  no  public  monument  to  their  memory.  The  encour- 
aging feature  of  this  event  is  that  society  recognizes  at  length  the 
duty  which  it  owes  to  itself  of  making  a  public  recognition  of  the 
life  and  labors  of  such  benefactors  of  the  human  race.  In  doing 
justice  to  William  E.  Dodge  the  community  places  itself  on  a 
higher  plane  of  virtue,  and  establishes  a  standard  of  excellence  for 
this  and  for  coming  generations  which  gives  the  answer  to  the 
complaint :  — 

"  How  seldom,  friend,  a  great  good  man  inherits 
Honor  or  wealth,  with  all  his  worth  and  pains  ; 
It  sounds  like  stories  from  the  land  of  spirits 
If  any  man  obtain  that  which  he  merits, 
Or  any  merits  that  which  he  obtains." 

But  this  monument  and  this  occasion  have  even  a  greater  sig- 
nificance and  a  deeper  lesson  for  those  who  remember  how  towards 
the  close  of  his  life,  when  he  stood  at  the  summit  of  his  career,  Mr. 
Dodge  was  persecuted,  misunderstood,  and  maligned.  It  bears 
witness  that  in  this  age  of  general  intelligence,  with  a  free  press,  it 
is  no  longer  possible  for  an  honest  man  to  be  crushed  by  official 
oppression ;  enforces  the  fundamental  truth  that '  government  ex- 
ists for  the  benefit  of  the  governed ; '  that  public  officials  are  the 
servants,  and  not  the  masters,  of  the  people ;  that  resistance  to 
wrong  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen ;  and,  above  all,  it  presents 
to  the  world  an  enduring  reminder  of  a  good  man  victorious  at 
last  over  malice  and  calumny,  as  another  justification  of  Milton's 
triumphant  acclaim  :  "  Who  ever  knew  truth  put  to  the  worst  in  a 
free  and  fair  encounter?" 


UNVEILING  OF  THE   STATUE.  399 

ADDRESS   BY   REV.    ROSWELL   D.    HITCHCOCK,   D.D. 

IT  was  a  keen  insight  into  the  subtler  forces  of  history  that  led 
Andrew  Fletcher,  or  some  other  wise  man,  to  say  that  if  one 
were  permitted  to  make  all  the  ballads,  he  need  not  care  who 
should  make  the  laws  of  a  nation.  He  might  have  added  "  Let  me 
put  up  the  statues,  and  I  care  not  who  write  the  biographies." 
Most  biographies  are  even  more  short-lived  than  the  men  they 
commemorate.  Books,  for  the  most  part,  come  and  go  with  the 
generations  which  produce  them.  Eagerly  read  at  first,  and  potent 
for  a  time,  they  retire  at  last  to  the  dusty  alcoves,  while  bronze 
and  marble  and  granite  stand  out  under  the  stars,  defying  the 
storms  and  the  seasons,  and  speak  on  to  millions  of  people  from 
generation  to  generation. 

It  is  an  old  idea  that  no  man  should  be  accounted  happy  until 
he  has  died.  Not  till  then  is  character  absolutely  assured.  The 
final  reputation  comes  later  still.  Between  death  and  beatification 
the  Roman  Church  requires  for  its  saints  an  interval  of  fifty  years, 
after  full  proof  of  eminent  virtue  and  well-attested  miracles.  For 
our  friend  and  neighbor,  whose  image  in  monumental  bronze  we 
salute  to-day,  we  ask  only  the  respect,  affection,  and  reverence  due 
to  a  modest  man  who  wrought  no  miracles  but  such  as  are  pos- 
sible to  us  all.  A  people  or  an  age  advertises  its  own  character  in 
selecting  the  men  set  apart  for  lasting  remembrance.  In  Trafalgar 
Square,  Nelson  is  England ;  in  the  Place  Vendome,  Napoleon  is 
France ;  in  the  Unter  den  Linden,  Frederick  the  Great  is  Prussia. 
Not  exclusively,  but  for  the  most  part  everywhere  in  Christendom 
military  genius  occupies  the  pedestals.  Not  exclusively,  as  I  have 
said ;  statesmen  and  philanthropists,  men  of  science  and  men  of 
letters,  —  women  also,  —  are  commemorated.  And  among  all  the 
better  nations,  the  exaltation  of  force  and  prowess  is  yielding 
steadily  to  the  exaltation  of  gentleness  and  charity.  Christian 
consecration  is  beginning  to  get  its  rights.  In  the  busy  commer- 
cial city  of  Hull,  England,  a  few  weeks  ago,  I  looked  up  in  grati- 
tude to  the  towering  form  of  Wilberforce.  To  her  splendid 
equestrian  statue  of  Frederick  the  Great,  Prussia  proposes  to  add 
an  imposing  monument  to  Martin  Luther.  For  our  friend  so  re- 
cently taken  from  us  we  claim  no  extraordinary  gifts  of  genius, 
no  brilliant  dramatic  career.  He  was  a  New  England  boy,  like 


400  UNVEILING   OF   THE   STATUE. 

many  others.  He  was  a  New  York  merchant,  like  many  others. 
He  was  a  member  of  our  National  Congress,  like  many  others. 
And,  like  many  others,  he  had  accumulated  a  handsome  fortune, 
for  which  no  man  upbraided  him.  No  poor  man's  curse  pur- 
sued or  shadowed  it.  He  was  a  thoroughly  good  man,  without 
a  single  drop  of  hateful  pride,  uncharitableness,  or  envy  cours- 
ing through  his  veins.  What  most  distinguished  him  was  his 
sense  of  Christian  stewardship  as  a  practical  working  force  in 
his  daily  life.  He  considered  nothing  as  absolutely  his  own.  All 
his  possessions,  gained  by  toil,  sagacity,  and  self-denial,  were  held 
in  trust,  sincerely  and  entirely.  His  personal  and  family  expendi- 
tures, which  might  easily  have  been  very  large,  were  constantly  re- 
strained by  the  feeling  that  he  was  using  money  that  belonged  to 
a  Being  above  him,  out  of  sight,  yet  always  near.  His  greatest 
luxury  for  many  years  was  the  divine  luxury  of  doing  good.  If 
some  men  whom  he  respected  could  not  always  see  things  just  as 
he  saw  them,  it  is  equally  certain  that  no  man  whom  anybody  else 
respected  ever  questioned  his  ardent,  entire  unselfishness. 

If  we  had  more  such  rich  men,  we  should  have  fewer  poor 
men  either  justly  or  unjustly  complaining  of  their  lot.  Such  men 
as  he  and  Peter  Cooper  are  the  best  friends  and  defenders  of  our 
present  social  order. 

I  have  been  permitted  to  see  a  partial  list  of  his  contributions  to 
public  objects,  —  a  list  kept  only  for  business  purposes,  and  not 
intended  for  publication.  I  shall  not  betray  the  trust.  The  aggre- 
gate is  large  and  princely ;  but  what  most  impressed  me  was  the 
great  variety  and  wide  geographical  distribution  of  his  charities. 
More  of  concentration  would  have  made  his  own  name  more 
prominent.  Had  one  half,  or  one  quarter  even,  of  what  he  gave 
away  been  bestowed  on  any  single  object,  he  would  have  built  for 
himself  a  monument  such  as  we  seldom  see. 

Educational  institutions  evidently  held  a  foremost  place  in  his 
regard.  His  own  educational  opportunities  had  been  very  good, 
being  the  son  of  a  successful  teacher.  But  when  only  twelve  years 
old  he  had  to  begin  life  for  himself  in  this  commercial  metropolis 
of  the  country,  with  scant  leisure  for  mental  cultivation,  which  he 
always  craved.  And  yet  from  the  beginning  he  was  an  eager  and 
diligent  reader  of  all  the  best  newspapers,  magazines,  and  books. 
Histories,  biographies,  travels,  theological  treatises,  but  especially 


UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE.  401 

the  more  practical  religious,  ethical,  benevolent,  and  reformatory 
books  and  pamphlets,  —  all  had  a  place  in  his  library  and  on  his 
table.  And  he  began  very  early  to  be,  according  to  his  ability, 
a  liberal  patron  of  literary  institutions,  both  colleges  and  theological 
seminaries.  The  three  institutions  for  which  he  did  most  were  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  in  this  city,  of  which  he  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  directors,  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn, 
and  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirut.  But  several  such  in- 
stitutions abroad,  and  a  long  list  of  institutions  at  home,  all  across 
the  continent,  from  Bangor  to  San  Francisco,  shared  in  his  unstinted 
and  untiring  bounty.  Many  a  small  college  doing  good  work 
under  hard  conditions  in  a  new  country  got  timely  and  stimulating 
assistance  from  him.  He  might  not  think  it  well  always  to  respond 
to  the  numberless  appeals,  but  no  properly  accredited  representa- 
tive of  any  institution,  however  humble,  was  ever  refused  a  hear- 
ing. The  recently  established  institutions  of  learning  for  colored 
students  commanded  especially  his  attention  and  patronage. 

The  interest  he  took  in  young  men,  particularly  such  as  were 
struggling  to  get  an  education,  was  one  of  his  most  charming  char- 
acteristics. He  never  forgot  that  he  was  once  a  young  man  himself, 
—  perhaps  I  ought  to  say,  rather,  that  he  himself  never  ceased  to 
be  young.  His  first  charity  was  in  this  direction.  When  a  mere 
boy  he  worked  a  potato-patch  in  Connecticut,  that  a  poor 
Sandwich  Islander  named  Obadiah  might  attend  school.  Nearly 
three  hundred  men  are  now  in  the  Christian  ministry,  preaching 
the  gospel  all  over  the  globe,  who  owe  their  education  in  large 
measure  to  his  bounty.  And  the  best  thing  about  him  always  was 
the  warm,  close,  personal  interest  with  which  he  followed  every 
young  man  to  his  self-denying  work.  I  make  bold  to  say  that 
there  are  few  men,  either  in  heaven  or  on  earth  to-day,  with  per- 
sonal relationships  so  numerous  and  so  tender. 

What  he  did  for  the  cause  of  temperance  will  be  better  under- 
stood when  plain  common  people,  who  shoulder  the  public  burdens, 
and  in  times  of  peril  bare  their  bosoms  to  the  shock  of  war,  shall 
have  been  brought  to  see  and  feel  that  the  great  bulk  both  of  our 
poverty  and  of  our  crime  may  be  traced  directly  to  the  intemperate 
use  of  intoxicating  drinks.  And  I  take  the  liberty  to  say  that 
charity  is  pouring  water  into  a  basket  until  the  chief  cause  of  all 
our  poverty  is  boldly  challenged  and  squarely  met. 

26 


402  UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE. 

It  only  remains  to  say  that  our  friend  gave  not  his  money  only, 
but  himself,  his  time,  his  strength,  his  enthusiasm,  his  whole  vitality, 
to  the  great  work  of  doing  good.  It  would  take  some  time  to 
name  all  the  benevolent  societies  which  he  served  as  president,  or 
vice-president,  or  director,  and  whose  treasuries  were  frequently 
and  liberally  replenished  by  him.  It  is  seldom  that  the  death  of 
any  man  leaves  so  many  vacancies  to  be  filled.  We  miss  him 
sorely.  The  world  is  poorer  for  his  having  gone  out  of  it.  A  little 
more  than  two  years  ago  we  said  good-night  to  him  with  saddened 
hearts.  But  now  we  may  say  good-morning.  Not  in  perishable 
flesh,  but  in  imperishable  bronze,  we  have  him  back  again,  shed- 
ding Christian  benediction  on  our  busy  streets. 


ADDRESS   BY   HON.   ALFRED    H.    COLQUITT. 

How  precious  is  the  memory  of  a  just  man  !  Frail  as  we  are, 
misjudging  as  we  are,  human  nature  asserts  its  preference  for  the 
good  and  the  beautiful  in  the  inevitable  offering  of  love  and 
admiration. 

What  distinction  can  be  compared  to  this?  How  often  is  it 
that  fame  is  achieved  by  a  suffrage  that  will  not  bear  the  light  of 
truth  or  reason?  How  much  of  influence  and  reputation  rests 
upon  the  narrow  basis  of  a  selfish  ambition?  Intense  self-love 
places  its  impress  upon  nearly  everything  that  man  hopes  for, 
struggles  for,  or  wins.  And  yet  when  death  hath  placed  its  seal 
upon  the  chapter  of  a  good  man's  life,  how  unfailing,  how  spon- 
taneous, how  fervent  is  the  tribute  which  our  better  nature  instinc- 
tively pays  !  The  heart  of  this  great  city  to-day  is  inditing  a 
chapter  in  its  history  that  will  stand  forever  as  an  illustration  of 
this  noble  trait  of  our  nature. 

This  concourse  here  is  to  inaugurate  an  imperishable  memorial 
that  shall  preserve  the  fame  of  a  pure  and  beneficent  life. 

Mr.  Chairman,  those  who  have  preceded  me  in  this  ceremonial 
have  spoken  more  fitly  than  I  can  be  expected  to  do  of  Mr. 
Dodge's  career  upon  this  theatre  of  his  long  and  active  life.  The 
wisdom,  the  integrity,  the  intelligence  that  marked  his  course  as  a 
citizen  of  this  city,  his  complete  success  in  demonstrating  the 
virtues  of  a  pure  life,  have  already  been  happily  delineated.  These 


UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE.  403 

are  very  properly  the  subjects  of  eulogy  for  those  who  were  nearest 
him,  and  whose  privilege  it  was  to  inspect  his  daily  walk  and  con- 
versation. I  come  from  a  distant  part  of  this  great  country  of  ours 
to  bear  an  humble  tribute  of  respect  and  love.  In  common  with 
you,  we  venerate  his  memory.  The  philanthropy  of  the  man  we 
honor  to-day  by  this  ceremony  embraced  every  color  and  class  in 
Georgia ;  and  here  let  me  say  in  this  presence,  where,  for  the  most 
part,  I  am  a  stranger,  that  we  none  the  less  honor  him  because  he 
was  not  of  our  own.  Virtue  is  not  provincial,  it  is  not  sectional, 
it  is  not  honored  because  it  is  born  in  one  community,  but  because 
of  its  own  intrinsic  beauty.  His  philanthropy  embraced  every 
class  and  color  in  my  State,  and  there  was  not  a  human  being  in 
the  commonwealth  that  might  not  have  felt  that  William  E.  Dodge 
was  his  friend  and  well-wisher.  He  had  a  very  especial  concern 
for  the  condition,  the  interests,  and  the  improvement  of  the  eman- 
cipated class  in  that  country.  What  he  did  in  his  gifts  to  institu- 
tions, in  his  aid  to  individuals,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  enumerate. 
I  am  glad  that  our  revered  friend  and  brother  did  make  some 
special  reference  to  it  to-day.  But  you  will  permit  me  to  refer  to 
one  circumstance  which  occurred  on  my  journey  to  this  city  as 
an  evidence  of  how  it  is  appreciated  among  that  class  of  our  fellow- 
citizens.  That  his  bounty  and  his  gifts  and  his  beneficence  were 
not  misplaced,  is  evinced  by  the  character  and  position  of  the  very 
colored  man  to  whom  I  refer.  Learning  by  chance  that  I  was  on 
my  way  here  to  be  present  at  the  ceremony,  he  gave  vent  to  his 
own  feelings,  writing  upon  the  cars  hastily,  as  we  parted,  a  simple 
note ;  and  as  he  could  not  be  here  to  mingle  in  the  throng,  he 
desired  that  if  it  was  inappropriate  that  it  should  be  referred  to  at 
all,  I  should  at  least  retain  it  as  an  evidence  of  the  fact  of  how 
his  people  appreciated  the  virtues  of  Mr.  Dodge  in  their  behalf. 
It  is  brief:  — 

The  colored   people    of  the  country  honor  the  memory  of  William  E. 

Dodge.     He  was  my  best  friend. 

WILLIAM  D.  JOHNSON. 

But  his  care  and  his  kindliness  were  not  limited  by  race,  color, 
or  previous  condition.  How  shall  I  on  such  an  occasion  as  this, 
at  a  day  so  early  in  the  memories  of  the  past,  speak  of  the  sym- 
pathy and  consideration  he  had  for  those  of  your  fellow-citizens 


404  UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE. 

in  the  section  of  the  Union  which  had  felt  the  hand  of  affliction 
so  severely  laid  upon  it?  While  the  most  rigid  requirements  of 
loyalty  and  of  patriotic  feeling  were  discharged,  he  at  the  same 
time  had  for  us  the  word  of  good  cheer  and  the  heart  of  a  brother. 
Mr.  Dodge  was  a  patriot  of  broad  sympathies.  He  was  so  because 
of  the  genuineness  of  his  humanitarianism.  Wide  as  his  country 
was,  diversified  as  were  the  interests  of  all  these  States,  he  never 
for  a  moment  suffered  the  thought  that  rivalries  in  State  policies 
could  justify  estrangement  and  enmities.  Let  it  be  said  to  his 
honor  that  from  the  moment  the  unhappy  collision  between  these 
States  ended,  he  stood  forth  and  pleaded  for  kindliness  and  for 
the  restoration  of  fraternal  feelings.  We  felt  this,  and  we  prized 
it ;  and  while  you  to-day,  fellow-citizens  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
are  unveiling  to  the  gaze  of  the  world,  for  all  time,  a  noble  statue 
of  this  man,  Georgia,  so  remote,  Georgia,  ten  years  ago,  in  naming 
one  of  her  counties,  linked  his  name  in  perpetual  union  with  her 
own.  Never  have  I  heard  a  citizen  of  my  State  take  exception  to 
this  signal  honor,  which  many  native  to  the  soil  might  have  cov- 
eted. Georgians  cherish  the  name  and  the  fame  of  her  adopted 
brother,  and  they,  with  you,  point  to  the  noble  character  which 
he  illustrated. 

It  will  be  a  difficult  task  in  this  our  day  and  generation  to  single 
out  a  man  who  took  a  wiser  view  of  life.  While  others  may  have 
pursued  their  interests,  justified  by  the  habits  and  usages  of  society, 
it  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  Mr.  Dodge's  own  motives  and 
interests  were  subordinated  to  those  of  the  public  good  and  public 
welfare  and  happiness.  Oh  that  men  would  oftener  feel  as  he  did, 
—  that  his  successes  were  but  the  covenants  held  by  Providence 
for  a  wider  and  more  active  pursuit  of  lofty  enterprises,  and  for  a 
deeper  concern  for  the  good  of  others  !  Would  to  Heaven  that 
the  fortunate  of  earth  were  as  generous,  as  sympathetic,  and  as 
warm-hearted  !  How  enviable  !  —  no,  I  will  not  say  it  is  to  be 
envied ;  but  in  the  minds  of  the  men  of  the  world,  what  an  envia- 
ble thing  do  we  here  contemplate  to-day !  A  vigilance  and  care 
that  overlooked  no  worldly  duty ;  a  loving-kindness  that  embraced 
all  mankind ;  a  meek  and  lowly  spirit  that  in  its  uttermost  trust 
relied  and  rested  upon  the  love  of  God.  It  may  be  that  in  the 
history  of  the  classic  ages  of  the  past  there  is  not  a  single  memorial 
that  has  ever  been  raised  to  commemorate  the  death  of  a  good 


UNVEILING  OF  THE  STATUE.  405 

man.  Let  it  be  said  to  the  honor  of  this  imperial  city,  this  city  so 
regal  in  commerce  and  in  power  of  every  character,  that  here,  in 
the  midst  of  the  thriving  activities,  and  in  the  multitudinous  occu- 
pations of  human  life,  there  is  a  spirit  of  love,  of  brotherhood, 
and  Christianity  that  illustrates  its  admiration  of  the  good  by  the 
erection  of  a  monument  that  shall  last  forever. 

The  benediction  was  pronounced  by  President  McCosh, 
of  Princeton  College. 


MONODY 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  WILLIAM   E.   DODGE, 

BY  MRS.  ELIZABETH   C.  KINNEY 
(Only  surviving  sister  of  Mr.  Dodge). 


O  BROTHER  of  my  heart  I 
O  Brother  of  the  pulsing  heart  of  man  I  — 
For  thy  rich  heart-blood,  fertilizing,  ran 

Through  the  great  arteries  of  humanity, 
Wherever  it  could  life  or  growth  impart  — 
Shall  I  so  selfish  in  my  sorrow  be 
As  to  stay  looking  down  the  chasm 

Of  my  deep  loss, 

Or  yield  to  grief's  convulsive  spasm, 
When  I  should  rise  and  bear, 
In  this  wide  woe,  my  share,  — 
Only  another  and  a  heavier  cross  ? 

If  he  could  speak  earth's  language  yet,  — 

Which  Angel-tongues  forbid,  — 
How  would  our  murmurs,  tears,  regret, 

By  those  dear  lips  be  chid  1 
That  voice, 

Might  it  but  pierce  the  skies, 

Attuned  to  heavenly  harmonies, 

Would  say,  "  Rejoice  1  rejoice  1 

My  labor  all  is  done, 

My  rest  begun,  — 
The  rest  of  higher  work,  that  wearies  not,  is  won.' 

In  glorious  vision  now  I  see 
That  life  sublime,  that  instant  death, 
Which,  painless,  hushed  the  mortal  breath, 
To  let  the  Immortal  breathe  more  free ; 
That  smile,  benign  in  charm, 
And  outstretched  still,  that  helpful  arm. 


MONODY. 

His  earth-work  is  not  finished  quite, 
Only  its  toil,  —  that  hand  yet  holds 
With  love  as  tender,  and  with  heaven-gained  might, 
The  band  he  took  in  youth, 
Pledged  by  true  woman's  truth, — 
That  arm  her  loneliness  enfolds, 
And  lifts  her  faith  to  raptures  infinite. 

That  high  example  of  the  perfect  man 

Stands  out  against  earth's  shadows,  backward  cast, 
For  sons  and  sons'  sons  to  behold  the  plan 
Of  a  whole  noble  course  from  first  to  last. 
Nor  unto  these  alone 
Is  that  great  pattern  shown  ; 
His  sons,  his  brothers,  were  the  human  race 

And  in  his  kindly  face 

Encouragement  and  guidance  beamed  for  all. 
His  speech  was  ever  as  a  ral lying-call, 
While  boldly  he  stepped  out  and  led  the  fight, 
Combating  error  in  the  cause  of  right. 

My  Brother, 
O  my  Brother  1    Who  will  rise 

To  take  his  place,  — 
In  heart  so  true,  in  tongue  so  wise  ? 

When  shall  another 
So  set  his  dauntless  face 
Against  all  evil,  standing  by  all  good, 
Valiant  as  Christian  hero  ever  stood  ? 

Who  at  the  hearth  and  home, 

Who  at  the'  hospitable  board, 

Who  at  the  Table  of  his  Lord, 

Under  the  temple-dome, 

Made  so  the  human-love  divine, 
Divine-love  such  a  heaven  on  earth, 

As  he  whose  countenance  will  shine 
No  more  by  that  now  shadowed  hearth  ? 

Answer,  O  heart  of  mine  1 
And  echo  the  response,  O  void  within  I 
Would  it  not  welcome  be  if  grace  might  win 
For  me  ere  long  the  Christian's  prize, 
Sooner  to  meet  again  my  Loved  in  Paradise  ? 


407 


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Return  this  material  to  the  library 

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10 


RtCD  L°-URL 
"%  JAN16  1996 


Form  L9-! 


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: 

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A     000666470 


HV 
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D66D6 


